
^^e:. 





'^:^^a^^^ 



THE 



LIFE AND TIMES 



OF 



AARON BURR, 



LIBUTENANT-COLONEL IN THE ARJTY OF THE REVOLUTION, 

UNri'ED STATES SENATOR, VICE-PRESIDENT OP THE 

UNITED STATES, ETC. 



BY j'. PARTON, 



acthob of "uumobous poetry of t ii k e n o 1. 1 8 h l a n g u a o 18 ' 
"life of ho u ace greet, e y," etc. 



FOURTEENTH EDITION 



NEW YORK: 
MASON B R (> T H E R S. 

5 & 7 MERCER STREET. 
< 18 6 1. 






Entered, according to Act of Oor.gi-ess, In the - par 1857, bj 

MASON BROTHERS, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Coun for the Southern Oistrlot of New York. 



CWh^ 






STi; REOTTPED BY 

T. B. Smith A Son, n . . 

„,,„..,,' , O A.. Alvord, 

15 VnDilewater-street 



TO 



®H lnw0ri| 



OF 



¥frag@©©©Q^ 



3<- 



%\i Jiutglrtn. 



"As to Burr, these things are admitted, and, indeed, can not be denied, 

that he is a man of extreme and irregular ambition; that ho is selfish 

to a degree which excludes all social aflectiona; and that he is decidedly 

profligate." 

Akxander Hamilton. 



" A great man in httle things, whUo ho (Burr) is really small in gi-eat 

ones." 

T/iomas Jefferson. 



"I vpitness your extraordinary fortitude with new wonder at every 
new misfortune. Often, after reflecting on this subject, you appear to me 
so superior, so elevated above all other men ; I contemplate you with such 
a strange mixture of humilitj'', admiration, reverence, love and pride, tluxt 
very httle superstition would be necessary to make me worsliip you as a 
superior being; such enthusiasm does your character excite in me. When 
I afterward revert to myself, how insignificant do my best qualities appear. 
My vanity would be greater, if I had not been placed so near you ; and 
yet my pride is our relationship. I had rather not live than not be the 
daughter of such a man." 

Theodosia Burr Alston, to her Fatlier, Aaron Bwr. 



"Our fiiends and our enemies draw us — and, I often think, both 

pictures are like." 

T}iackeray. 



PREFACE. 

The story of Aaron Burr's strange, eventful life, which 
must possess intei-est for the American people always, I 
attempt to tell, because no one else has told it. 

Few men have been more written about than he ; but, 
generally, by partisans, opponents, or enemies. The life 
of Burr, by the late Mr. M. L. Davis, as it contains a great 
number of Colonel Burr's letters, and many documents 
respecting him and his doings in the world, has a value 
of its own, which publications like the present can not 
diminish. But the story of the man's life is not to be 
extracted from those volumes, for the simple reason that 
it is not contained in them.. One may read Mr. Davis's 
work, and Burr's European Diary, and the Report of his 
Trial for Treason, making in all more than three thousand 
octavo pages, and still be utterly unable to decide what 
manner of man he was, and what, in the great crises of 
his life, he either did or meant to do. I can confidently 
appeal to any one who has gone through those six pond- 
erous volumes, to confirm the assertion, that they leave 
Aaron Burr, at last, to the consideration of the reader, a 
baffling enigma ! 

To have condensed the information contained in those 



Vm PRKFAOK. 

thousftiuls of p!Vi;vs into a sing-lo volunio of eonvcniont sizo 
and piii'o. woiiKl havo boon itself a just iliablo work, ^luob 
movo than that has boon Jouo. To coniploto my infonua- 
tion, 1 havo rosortoil to t ho followiui;" aiUlitional sonivos : 

First, the Litoraturo oi' tlio period, ai\t.l, partionlarly, 
the Memoirs and Letters oi' publie eharaotors, who wore 
tbe rivals and assoeiates of l^urr. The eorrespondenee of 
JetVerson. llauiilton. and dolm Adams has, of eourse, beeti 
of the most essential sorvlee. 

Secondly, tbe newspapers of Burr's day. Groat num- 
bei's o\' those are preserved, among other priooless treas- 
nvos, in the Hbrary of the Xow York llisiorioal Sooioty, 
for aoeess to which 1 am indebted to ^Ir. Moore, tbe oblig- 
ing librarian of that institution. 

Thirdly, Aaron Burr himself. 

1 never saw Aaron r>urr. though in my early ehildhood 
I have played marbles bofoiv his door, and looked with 
curiosity upon tbe old-fashioned dull brass-knoeker that 
bore his name ; having vaguely heai\l t'hat some terrible 
old man, wlunn nobody would speak to, lived there all 
alone. The information that I havo derived fivm Burr 
himself eomes to me thivugh his surviving friends and 
connections 

So superior is spoken to written language, that a few 
houi"S* close eonversiition with people who were really in- 
tiu\ate with Colonel Burr, threw iust the needed liuht 
upon his ebaraoter and conduet, which mnsaeked libraries 
had failed to shod. But for such conversittions, I should 
never have undei-stood the man nor his cai-eer. During the 



P R IC F A C K , 1 X^ 

liiHt three ycarH, I have been in the habit of converhin^ fa- 
miliarly with many of thoHe who aHHOciated with him dur- 
ing tiio last twenty or thirty years of his life, receiving at 
every interview some addition to my stock of anecdote and 
reminiHCence. Jiiirr had a remarkable memfjry, and, with 
[tersons whom lie liked and trusted, was load of convers- 
in<^ upon the events of his career ; the whole story of 
wiiicli, at one time and another, he told them many times 
over. With all his faults, he was never ^iven to self-vin- 
dication. He was one of those men who naturally make 
themselves out to be worse than they are, rather than bet- 
l<;r. He told the anecdotes of his life merely as anecdotes. 
Tlie impression which they made upon those who heard 
them was such, that many of his stories they still relate 
in the very words he used, and with imitations of the look 
and gesture that accompanied each phrase. Burr's own 
view of the leading transactions of his life has thus been 
imparted to me. 

Neither of my informants knew what any other of them 
had told me, or would tell me. The general concurrence, 
as well of the facts they gave, as of the opinions they en- 
tertained of the man, and their feelings toward him, was 
remarkable. The discordance and contradictions begin 
only when the inner circle of those who know is left, and 
the outer one of those who have heard, is entered. To 
Burr's surviving friends, then, I chiefly owe it that I have 
been aide to extricate his story from the falsehoods in 
which it was embedded. 

Others, whose acc^uaintance with him was slight and 



X PREF A CK. 

accidental, and some who merely saw him in public situa- 
tions, have also given me interesting infonnation. The 
patient courtesy of many distinguished gentlemen to a 
stranger who could never make the slightest return of 
their kindness, greatly enhanced the obligation which they 
conferred. 

Such are the sources from which the following narrative 
has been derived. All of them have been used — none 
followed. 

It may occur to some readers, that the good in Burr 
is too conspicuously displayed, or his faults too lightly 
touched, in this volume. To such I desire to say that, 
in my opinion, it is the good in a man who goes astray, 
that ought most to alarm and warn his fellow-men. To 
suppress the good qualities and deeds of a Burr is only less 
immoral than to suppress the faults of a Washington. In 
either case, the practical use of the Example is lost. Who 
can hope to imitate a perfect character ? Who fears that 
he shall ever resemble an unredeemed villain ? 

Besides, Aaron Burr has had hard measure at the hands 
of his countrvmen. Bv men ftir beneath him, even in 
moral respects, he has been most cruelly and basely belied. 
Let the truth of his marvelous history be told at last. If, 
here and there, my natural and just indignation at the 
unworthy treatment to which his name has been subjected, 
has biased me slightly in his favor, the error, I trust, will 
not be thought unpardonable. Aaron Burr was no angel ; 
he was no devil ; he was a man, and a — filibuster. 

The period during which Burr was a public man is the 



PREFACE. XI 

most intereiiting in the history of the United States, after 
the Itovolutioii. It was then that Old Things in this 
country really passed away. Then arose the conquering 
Democratic Party. Then America became America. We 
are still only reaping what was sown in those twelve years, 
and shall for a very long time to come. Nothing consid- 
erable has occurred in American politics since the election 
of Jefferson and Burr in 1800 — though one or two con- 
siderable things have been gallantly attempted. 

1* 



{] N T E N T S. 



-♦•-♦-♦< 



CII A I'TER I. 

JONATHAN I'.IiWAItliM, TIIB FATIIKU <lh' AAUON IHUM'H MOTUKE. 

I'AOB 

H« nmu,K»m IN Ni'.w Yokk in m2-8KCTmi oir i.w Caiiisbb - Uw Wipb 

■lUMAIIIAN KdWAIUiH 



CirM'TER II. 

T1IJ3 UlfiVBUKND AAUOW W U U U , F A T H U fl OF AAKON KUEE. 
Oim-iNB oc »w KAitf.v ir.HTo.iy - 1'AWo.i oif Nr',wA.iK Cnimofi-A Oubat 

BriIOOI.MAH'.KU-l'KI'.«ri.K.NT Of I'lUNiJI'.TON COM-KOIC - TlIK l'l.<«T CoMME.SCB- 
»,KNT-Bum.KN MAK.i.A.i.CO^'ii.K I-,tK«U..«NT - ll.« WttmN.iB - HW I'OUTBA.T 81 

CHAPTER III. 

AAUON IllIKIl liOkK, A^fl) I- K F T AN ORPHAN. 

RKMOVA.. TO I'lUNOimjN - 1-AHT ImI.OIIH AN., li.'.A'i.. Olf I'u.'ii.I.KNT HUR«- 
O.IAUA.JTIt.l AND IJIUTII Of MuH. IJUUrt-TuiS O.'..-.. A N.'.O ClIL-lillltN - Ba.IA.I 

45 

HuiiK •• 



^^^ CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE EDUCATION OP AARON BURR. 

EmABKTUTOWN-ANKcnoTES or BruK-a CniLn„ooD-n.s Cakepk at College-^""" 
Goes to Dr. Bellamy's Tueoloo.cal School- Ke.kcts the Puk.tamo The- 
OLOQY — FoxD Of Ladies' Bociety — Studies Law 5^ 



CHAPTER V. 



THE VOLUNTEER. 



His QuAimoATioxs as a Soldieu- Joins tiie Aumy Around Boston- Aknoxd's 
Lxpewtiox to Quebec -Bukk's Secret Mission from Arnold to Mont 
ooMKRY-An-o.NTED Aid to General Montgomery -The Assault upok 
Qitebec-Captain Burr bears o.e ti.e Body of nis General- Appointed 
Aid to General Washington - Keaso.ss ok i„s Discontent in that Sitca- 



TION. 



66 



CHAPTER VI. 

AID-DE-CAilP TO GENERAL PUTNAM. 
Thb Kktreat from Long Island-Bcrr saves a Brigale-Dis Affair 



Miss Monouieme — Ukk Narkativ 



with 



B. 



85 



CHAPTER VII. 

HE COMMANDS A REGIMENT. 
Appointed a Lieutenan-^Colonkl- Commands a Keoimlnt-Captitres a Brit- 

ISII IICKET-FORMS AN ACQUAINTANCE WITH M.S. TlIEODOSIA PrEVOST- 

Commands a Briuade at the Batixb of Monmouth- Aijecdote ge 



CONTENTS. XV 

« 

CHAPTER VIII. 

THE WESTO 11 ESTER LINES. 

PAan 

Condition of tiik Country nupoHiii Cowinki^ Buhu took the Command — Sui-- 

niESSua Plundkrino — His IIaihts as a Soi.dieu — Dumtkoyb the Blooic Fokt 

— LOVK AdVISNTUKK IIY NlQllT—KuSKJNS 1II8 COMMISBION — TlSSTIMONY OF Tlllii 
M UN WHOM HE COMMANDHU— AnUCOOTHS— InTKHVIKW WITH MltS. AllNOI.U AT 
PAUAilUa — El'l'lCtlTrt oil- TI114 WaK UruN U18 CllAUAOTUK AND FoitTUNB Ill 



CHAPTER IX. 

ADMISSION TO THE U A U , AND MARRIAGE. 
TiiK Ameiuoan Bau hkfoke the Risvoi.ution — Bubr llicsuMEft ma Leoal Studies 

— lllS CORBKSI'ONDENOK WITH Mu9. PltEVOST — ADMISSION TO THE BAU — CllAIl- 

ACTEU OF Mrs. Puevobt — Tueib Makriagb — Removal to New youic 130 



CHAPTER X. 

AT THE NEW YORK BAR. 
N It w York in 1783 — John Adams's Impuessions of the City — The Duterent 

KINDS OF LaWVEHS — BuHR'S QuAUTV AND IIADITSAS A I-iAWYER — ANK0D0TE8 

~ — Hamilton and BtiRii at the Bar — Kmolujirntb of the Bab then — Tub 
Tames and Home of Burr — Soenes at IIioiimond Hill 143 



CHAPTER XI, 



THE NEW YORK POLITICIAN. 
The Eai'idity op mis Uibe in Politics — Member of tub State IjEOiSLATunn — 

OlM'OSEB TUB MEOUANIOS' BILL — VOTES' FOR THE AllOLlTKlN OP SLAVERY — 
PaKTIES AFTER TH.E PUAOIS— TllB (hlEAT FAMILIES OF THE StATK — " BirHK'S 

Myrmidons" — The Eatifioation of the Constitution — Buuu's Karlv Move- 
ments IN POLITIIIS — Al'l'OlNTKD AtTORNEY-OeNI'.UAL OF THE BTATB — Hw UE- 

roRT ON THE Kbvolutionahy Claims — Sale of the Staxb Lands — Elected 
TO THE Senate of tub United States ICO 



XVI CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XII. 



A SENATOR. 

PAQE 

Enteks the Senate — The Senate's Interview with President TVashinqton 

— Burr's Adpkess to tuk President — Letter from the French King — 
TuE President forbids Colonel Uurr to Examine the Beooeds — Burr 
Talked of for the Governouship of the State — Burr's Opinion on the 
Disputed Canvass — Second Presidential Election — Burr a Candidate — 
Hamilton Opposes and Denounces iilm — Burr as a Debater — 'Washing- 
ton's Krfusal to send him Ambassador to France — Third Presidential 
Election — Burk a prominent Candidate — Hamilton again Opposes uim 

— Domestic Life — Death of Mrs. Burr — Education of his Dauohteb 181 



CHAPTER XIII. 

THE ERA OF BAD FEELING. 

Tub three Periods of our History — Parties before the Kevolution — Par- 
ties after the Eevolution — Effect of the French Revolution upox 
American Politics — Hamilton — Jefferson — The Tone of Society on Jef- 
ferson's Return from France — The Differences between Hamilton and 
Jefferson — Rise of tub Democratic Party — John Adams — Public Excits- 
Mr.NT IN 179S 207 



CHAPTER XIV. 

MEMBER OP THE ASSEMBLY AGAIN. 

Burr retires from the Senate — The Federalists in Power — Pre-eminent 
Position of Hamilton — Burr in the Assembly — His Preparatory Ma- 
neuvers — Hamilton Opposes Burr's Appointment to a Generalship — The 
Army — The Manhattan Bans Affair — Burr's First Duel, and its Cause 229 



CONTENTS. ^^^ 

CHAPTER XV. 

THE ELECTION OP 1800. 

PAGE 

Gloomy Pbospeots or tub Repitblioans-Buku Confident -Fepebal Eriiors 
-Arrest op Judge Peok- Hamilton's Soheme for Cheating the People - 
John Adams's Narrative -Burr's Taotios-Ue Wins over General Gates 
-Judge Livingston and Governor Clinton- Hamilton and Burr at the 
Polls -The Victory- Hamilton's Unworthy Expedients -Burr Frus- 
trates THEM- The Tie between Jefferson and Burr 2 

CHAPTER XVI. 

THE TIE INTRIGUES. 

The Works of Washington, Jefferson, Adams and Hamilton —Letter from 
Burr to Wilkinson — Letter prom Jefferson to Burr — Letter from Burr 
TO Hon. 8. Smith, appointing him his Proxy — Letter from Hamilton to 
Secretary WoLOOTT, denouncing Burr — Tun Federalists bent on electing 
Burr President- Letter from Otis to Hamilton, asking Advice respecting 
the Project — Skcond Letter from Hamilton to Wolcott against Burr — 
Letter from Jeffbiwon to Madison, denouncing the Federal Intrigues — 
Honest Letter from Gouveuneur Morris — Letter from Hamh-ton to Sedg- 
wick, denouncing Burr -Letters from Hamilton to Morris and Bayard, 
against Burr — Keplies of Morris and Bayard to Hamilton — Letter from 
General Green to Hamilton — Letter of Governor Eutlbdge to Hamilton 
— Sedgwick's Reply to Hamilton — Long Letter of Hamilton to Bayard- 
Hamilton TO Morris again — The Election in the House- Scene between 
Jefferson and Adams- Proof of Burr's Political Integrity— The Inaugu- 

262 

ration 



CHAPTER XVII. 

THE VIOE-PRESIDENT. 

The Office or Vice-President —Marriage of Thkodosia- Her Son- Burr's 
Delight in Him — His Style of Living- His Courtship op Celeste — His 
Popularity and General Good Fortune 29T 



XVIU CONTENTS. 



(MIA r TKK X \ 1 IT. 



01* 0X1 us (} A Til UK. 
Tnn OiiRAT Kkuoi! Of Uitui'.t TtMU.to I,iifR— T>isrKUui'noN of xnw Srojw — 

OUMKTIIXM AN1> TUK AmKIUOAN OU'IABN — )^>'UU'» Oo\1USN ON iUN .llUMiMAIiY 
UUI.— 'rUK 8\M'>M!KS!tKl> UlS'l'XlUV OC Al>.\MS'a AOMINISTUATION — HAMILTON'S 

M»>iiim> A>'»'tii;u»;ssi<>Ns — l\(ntu at tub Wasuinown B,\XtiVKT — U\M\>.'r»»i's 
Nkw T,voi-u\-» — i'iikkvu.vm's OA\.v'NNuy> — Tiibu! lh;if»^T,vTioN — TiiK W.vw or 
V.VMnii.Kcs .VNi> Nt;\vs»'A»"Ki!*— UvvM.iNi) TUKN — 11am\>.i^>>!'s Ki.KKST Son Ka),\,!« 

>N A 1>11K».— 0\iKV. nKrWKBS .loUN SWAnVVVOUT ASl» Dk Will' Ol.lNlH^N — Ko- 
iinui' S\VA«l-\VOl T ANl> lJlOllA«l> ItlKKlsSl V>i;m. — DUKl, UKTWKKN OOI.KMAN ANO 
OaI'YAIN TllOMI'SvlS — lilUSU J{llN» >\Ml OOVKKSOR or I^fiW YOUK ~ TtlK OONTKST 
— lUlUU l>KrNAl'KV>.....,,.,.., , SlW 



on .\r TKR XIX. 



T»t! Oknkrai, rKOVvWATioN—Tiis Pahtioi'I-aw ruovooArioN— Tuit Uosi-ius 

OoU«KSl'ONl>KNO»8 — TllK Oil Al.l.RXViK OlVKN ANt» AOOKl'TKO — 11 AMILI-ON'S CON- 
JH'01\ ANl> lilUSR^il l.lSn'KUa HKWUB TKK MkKV1NU-«T«K IVVNVJI'KT OP TUK 

CiNoiNNATi — Tiifi LA!»r WurnN^is or Hamu.wj! asi> lUiuu — Tivk Pi'susa 
Okohno -TiiK PvKi.— Kt-rKOT on TiiR I'l'uuo Misn — This Ooro.hkk's Ykr- 
DiOT— X^«, Nvvn-** Srrmon — TiiR .Momimknt w Hamilton on tuk Ukohniv. iWS 



CIIAPTKK XX. 

•niR FXTQITIVK. 

BvKYi's CoxnrcT ArrsR tns Bi'ki.— Anrc^i^otts — Pvrr's Fuflirr— Commooorm 
TruxwsVi Narrative — Borr Kmharrs skorrtlt rv^R St, Simon's — Ihs Ks- 

ORVVION ASU UrMUBNOK THRRK— UANOVn- AT rKT«RSmiR« — 0UKKRRI> AT rilB 

'I'^iRATRR— Uis Uktvrn a>> \Y A!UUN») tfiN — Uk P«K!iu»Kji AT TIIK Triai. or Jvnos 

ClUOR- Jlw Kl,v>»il'RNTFARK\VKU\.TOTUK SiMiATR — JllS TkOPSIASV OoSmTlvVS S«4 



O ON TIC NTH. ^'^ 



(Ml Al'TIOIt X XT. 

II M HKKIv!) A NISW 00 U NT lit. 



I'AaM 



! V .....W....N »».C.C AN.. ..,..,C..«ON-l'U.a..... H-A ' A...U.H.ON. 881 



OnAl'TKR XX 11. 

inn 15X1' I'! II I T r ON. 
,,,,„ „„„„,„ .„ ,,M, KX,..,..T.ON-]l.r,«fH U0N.r....C.U'.'...--BWA,tTNV0..T •..«- 

QUIWAI 



ClIArTKIl XXTTT. 

Til IB KXIT, OHIOM. 
wAUTWOtn'H A...t.vA,. .N OKN.'..tA., W...K.NKON'. Oam.-T,... (!..m..'..c L.mn,.m- 

!! T l.K6.u,AMAn..N-VV....UNH0N-H M KAmMU.« - T,... l'.;.....o •k.cn.T- 
Sn,«N,C« ON m,.«NNK,....AHH..r.. 1h.,AN.. - I).W>KNT O. '....0 .U.ic.t ~ IWnt.t B, a- 

DUllNICim • 



XX 



C N r K \ l' s , 



CMl A VTKU X \I V 

iUK AliRKST. 



V.VOK 



UKVWKKN IUkH AM> O.Vfr.VlN OA«NK*-r„K AkK^^T -KuRK'S Dk.-ORTVKNT V. 
A rK,SONK«-lhS l^UVAKTVUK VKOM FOUT STxM^O.VKT - TuK .loi'aXKV VUKOIHUI 
THK \\U.l>KKN«>*_..VXKO.>OVK-lUaNV A.-^KA.. W TUK l>KOrLK- AKRIVAL AT 
K.0.mON,>-KXAM,XAnON U«VH. O.UK^ JimOK MAR.^,AUt.-BuKK nSKRMV. 
illUSKLK— Al^Mln-KU IV UaIL — jKfFKRSOS j^ 



CUAPTKH XXV. 



T H K 1 X m C T M K N r 



TUR CON-VXnK.K AT K.OUMONn-GKNKSA,. .IaOK.OX DkNOCXCRS jKrPKKSON- 

A\.NnM....<.vn- IN n.K Oo,Kv-Ko.>M-TnK 1.axvvkks_Gkok,)k IIav-AY.i.- 
UAx. \\ .KT- MaoIUk-IUh^V Mansrk axu Av.>k.vkanck xn Oovrt-Kpvim> 
kAKtHn.n,-\Vn.UAM AY.okuam- Utukr Makv.n-Bkn.am.n Kovi^-.l.c^ 

l.AKKK-l„K Oram. .UrV-M0VU>N IV Oa>.Mn— T«K AROr».RST-AV,RT,. 

^.-RKOu-ln-KK^. KRn.v-AVAm.., roR \Vu.kix-«ox-Trka.on O^nNKo- r„K 

M>B»MLN A IVORS IVn-M - iNmoVMRN^^ FoVSP- BlTKK IS PkUS^VN -l^iR<.,K.S»AS 
AKKVVAL— 1>AK.X1SV-S KRvVULKOnONS 

*6i> 



11 A VTV.K XXVI. 



TUK IRIAL. 



PvHRTKKx Pa^s SrRXT « QKrt,s« a Jckv-Okskrai. Katv.x-8 T«st.mcnv- 
U>MMouoKj. •rRv:.vx^N-s l^ssTiMoxv - Pct.* Taylor^ 1^=sv.voxv-.Ua>b ALt.- 
KRi.HT^ Tk.^.m.>.t-1^,r N,xs n.v^^• Ukuavk os tur Aum.^x.,utv or 

iNinRSv^ KVV,>R.N0R-WIRT^S 0k,XHRATRI> S»W.n-Bi.KN.XKKMA**laTS PlARV 
-1H-V^>^U>N- or TUR OU.KK Jir^TIOK-TuR YkRWO- I^MTKR Or 'n.KXUHV^UA-S- 
I^IB l^AL FVVR Ml>iUltXlJtA.NOR-Bl»tR JS liALrmORK ^SS 



CONTENTS. XXI 



CIIAPTEK XXVII 



THE BXILH, HIS nESIDBNOW IN KNOLAND. 

fAQH 

8AHJ1 KOK I0n(;|,AN1> — I'ARllNd WITH 'I'lllCODdHIA — I NTItUVIlCVVH WITH OaNNINO, 

OABTLItltlCAOII, AND MlILtlllAVlC — TlHtlCATKNICI) WITH Kxi'lILHION KIIOM I0n(II,AN1) 
— Ol.AIMH TO IIIC A ItlilTlHII SlIUJIOCT — IIlB BUUDIWH IN HoDIltTY — OlIAULlM 
JvAMIl — BlONTIIAM — AnKHDOTIW OP UUKIt AND lllCNTUAM — IIlS OOOiri'ATlONH IN 
L<»NI(()N — I'r.ANB Poll JtlOTIlIIOVINO IlIB KoRTUNIW — HaMUIOI, HW AKTWODT'H 
HOUKMH — JiURlt'B ToUlt IN TlllO MoKTIl — A MoNTU IN JiUlNIlUIlO — TlUllOATlCNKU 
WITH AllBltST 618 



c n A V T j^: It X X V IT r . 

KXPUI,S[()N KKOM OIUOAT nUI'l'AlN, AND UKSIDKNOD IN SWEDEN. 

JIW AllltlCBT — OoMI'ltLl.ltl) TO I.IOAVK TlllO (Jol/NTHY — LUTTlCll TO J,OKD LlVKK- 
POOI. — 8AU.8 IfOK SwitDION — AUKIVAI, IN StOOKIIOI.M — I[lS KiCSIDltNOK IN 

Htookkolu — lliH Imi'kichhionh op Swicdkn — I'l.icAHANT Inoidibnt 688 



(MIAPTMU XXrX. 

LOVE-OHASH IN CIICRMANY, AND .lOUUNKY TO I'AUIH. 

LicAvicH HwitDicN — Two Wi.kkh at Ooi'HniiaUhn — At IIamiuiko — (Jut iiy 
TIM', Amukioanb — Tim Lady Dmntibt— rASsi-ouTa J>iti,AYBu — Toun in Omi- 

MANY — At WlOIMAU — OoHTlIK — WllCI.ANI) — TlllO DUOAI, OoUIlT — GoiCTlllc's 
TlllCATltll — Oi'D RlCNCONTHK WITH TlIU DlTOHICHH — A BiCltlOtIB I'ABSION — AnBO- 
DOTB — At GOTUA — IIW FaMILIAIHTY with Tim DlTKIO — Tun I'llINOItBB LOUIBB 

— Inoidicnth at Tim li'iiANicroiiT Uai.1. 648 



CHAPTIUt XXX. 

IN PARIS U N D 10 U H U U V H! 1 L L A N 111 . 
iNTKllVllCW WITH Tint DlKI 1>H UaDOIIK — KltiriTI.HHH Al'TlCMl'TS TO UlCAOIl TlIK 

Kmi'kkoh- Kitrnoii to Fiiu<iiiu — Tim Kino of Wknii'mai.ia — Pabbpokts Uu- 



XXU COJfTENrS. 

PAGB 
FUSED — USDKK SrKVKlLLANOK OK THE PoLICE — PeCITNIAEY STRAITS — CUT BY 

THE AmKKIOAS KeSIPKNTS— I.NTEKVIKW WITH THE Dl'C X>E KoVUiO — CoUKE- 

ePONOKSCK WITH TUB AmKMCAX ChAKGK 1>ES AFKATKES — Bl'lUi'S EXTKGMS 

Poverty — Cukes a Smoky Ciiimxey — Lettees.fkom Tueobosia — Espediksts 
FOii IkAisixd Mo:ngy 653 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

HE ESCAPES. 

rns Ticket Advesttjke — Acquaiktanck with M. Dknon and tub Duo de Bas- 
SAXO — A Bkigutep. Prospect — Passports PKOCUKEt — Bassako's Generosity 

— Journey to Holland — Further Delays — Leaves Paris Forever — Inci- 
dents Of uis Dra»AKTUKE — Sails from Holx.and — Captuked by a British 
Frigate — In London Again — Penniless — OiiEEftpuLNESS in Misfortune — 
Desperate Efforts to Kaise Money — Leaves London — Cu^vse After ths 
Siup — Sails for Bostos 570 

CHAPTER XXXII. 

THE exile's welcome HOilE. 

Alone in the Shu-— i.ioks on Suoke is Disguise — Adventures at the Custom- 
Ilouss — Detention in Boston — Interview with the OLr> Soldier — Ths 
Collkqf. Cl^vssmatk — Kecognized by a Lady — Good News from Swaktwoct 

— Sails in a Sloop foe Xew York — Finds Kelatives on Board — Startling 
Incident — Burk Jsarkates his Arrival in the City — Conckalfo) for Twenty 
Days — Announcement of his Arrival — Successful Beginning of Business 

— Dreadful News from Tueodosia — Death of Theodosia — Tub Father's 
Gkief — Anecdote 6S6 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

ANECDOTES AXD R E M I XI S C E N* C E S OP HIS LATER TEAES 

PoPULAK Notion OF Burr's Later Years — IIis Debts — Starts General Jack- 
son FOR THE Presidency — The Medcef Eden Case — Ke,makkablk Cask of 
Incest — Interview with Henry Clay — Scene between Burr and General 
Scott — Buke Revisits tub Scene of the Duel — Burr's Meeting with Mrs. 



CONTENTS. XXIU 

PAOB 

HAurr.TOK — Bt'RE akd Vanih!rlt>{ tub Pajntee — Eecollbctions of De. 
WooujiuiDGE— IIw Relkjiol'8 Belief — IIw Opimos of the BiHLB — Anec- 
dotes — GENEROBITr OF Bl?EE — ANECDOTES — BtOEY OP BuEB AKD GeNEEAL 

Jackbon — Bi/Ktt's Opinion of Jackson — Bueb's Kale Old Age — Biteb and 
Fanny Ke^i^le 603 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 

HIS RELATIONS WITn WOMEN. 

'They Sat" — Aneodotf, of Wilbeefobcb — Tub Ebeoes of M. L. Davis — 
Tub Two Wills of Colonel Bc;ee — Anecdotes — Lbttee of Colonel Buue 
to a Young Lady — Tue Age op Gallantby — IIis Influence over Ladies 
— His Mannebb — Causes of iiib Bad Eei'utation witu Begaed to Women — 
Adventdbes on tub Cold Fkiday — Otueb Anecdotes — Bure ko Seducee.. 637 



CHAPTER XXXV. 

HIS SECOND MASEIAGE. 
Origin and IIistobt of Stephen Jumel — AfADAiiE Jumel's Visit to Bure — 

COOETSfUP AND MaBBIAGE — BuEB MtSUSFit IIEB MoNEY — TuEIE SEPAEATION . . 660 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 

HIS LAST YEARS AND HOURS. 

Wtricken WITU Paealysis — IIis Last and Best Fbiend — Anecdotes of Hib 
Sickness — Dying Declaeation Eespectino IIis Expedition — Inteeview 
viTu A Clergyman — Uis Last Moments — Funeeal — Monument 66T 



, CHAPTER XXXVII. 

Othee FaoxS, and Some Beflbctions 680 



CHAPTER I. 

JONATHAN EDWARDS, 

THE FATHEE OF AARON BUBR'S MOTHER. 

Affl Eesidenoe in New York in 1722 — Sketch op uw Career — His Wife and 
Dai;giiter8 — Ebtueb Edwakdb — The Edwakds Stock — Lsflubnce or Jonatiiam 
Eliwakuh. 

In" the autumn of 1722, when New York was a town of 
eight thousand inhabitants, and possessed some of the charac- 
teristics of a Dutch city, an English sea-port, a new settlement, 
a garrisoned town, and a vice-royal residence, there used to 
walk about its narrow, winding streets, among the crowd of 
Dutch traders, English merchants, Indians, officers and sol- 
diers, a young man whose a])2>earance was in marked contrast 
with that of the passers-by. His tall, slender, slightly stoop- 
ing figure, was clad in homespun parson's gray. His face, very 
pale, and somewhat wasted, wore an aspect of singular refine- 
ment, and tliough but nineteen years of age, there was in his 
air and manner the dignity of tlie mature and cultivated man. 

This was Jonathan Ei>waujjs, avIio had just come from 
studying divinity at Yale College, to preach to a small con- 
gregation of Presbyterians in the city. New York had an ill 
name at that time among the good people of New England. 
"The Dutch of New York and New Jersey," said one of 
them, " are little better than the savages of our American 
deserts." Jonathan Edwards was sent by a company of 
clergymen to this desperate place much in the spirit of those 
who, at the present day, send missionaries to Oregon or to 
the mining districts of California. 

Every thing was adverse to the spread of his faitli at that 
time in New York, and the young clergyman, after a residence 
of only a few months, went home to resume his studies. Dearly 



26 LIFE OF AAEON BURE. 

loved and highly prized by some members of his little congre- 
gation in New York he certainly was ; but there is no reason 
to suppose that the preaclung of the greatest of American 
clergymen attracted the slightest attention from the unintel 
lectual citizens of the place. Yet a happier, a more exultant 
youth, never trod the shores of this island than Jonathan 
Edwards, lie had grasped the tenets of his sect not with the 
languid assent with which an inherited creed is frequently re- 
ceived, but with that eager, enthusiastic love which accompanies 
original conceptions. To him they were the most real of all 
realities. His manner was very calm and gentle. He spoke 
little, and kept apart from the busy life of the city. But the 
light of perfect benevolence and rapt-devotion rested upon his 
noble, thought-laden countenance, and a profound enthusiasm 
animated his heart. 

Of his life in New York, he writes in after years a brief 
account, which still exists to reveal to a canting age a soul 
devoted to the object of its love. How touching is this 
extract : — " If I heard the least hint of any thing that hap- 
pened in any part of the world that appeared, in some re- 
spect or other, to have a favorable aspect on the interests of 
Christ's kingdom, my soul eagerly catched at it ; and it would 
much animate and refresh me. / used to he eager to read pub- 
lic 7iews-letters, 7nainly for that end ; to see if I could not find 
sotne news, favorable to the interest of religion in the toorld. 
I very frequently used to retire into a solitary place, on the 
banks of Hudson's river, at some distance from the city, for 
contemplation on divine things and secret converse with God ; 
and had many sweet hours there. Sometimes Mr, Smith and 
I walked there together, to converse on the things of God : 
and our conversation used to turn much on the advancement 
^f Christ's kingdom in the world, and the glorious things that 
God would accomplish for his church in the latter days. I 
had then, and at other times, the greatest delight in the holy 
Scriptures, of any book whatsoever. Oftentimes in reading 
Jt, every word seemed to touch my heart. I felt a harmony 
between something in my heart and those sweet and powerful 
vrords. I seemed often to see so much light exhibited by 



JONATHAN EDWARDS. 27 

every sentence, and such a refreshing food communicated, 
that I could not get along in reading ; often dwelling long on 
one sentence, to see the wonders contained in it ; and yet al- 
most every sentence seemed to be full of wonders." 

Through the obsolete phraseology of this passage, one easily 
discerns a fine disinterestedness of character which, unless the 
human race should become wholly debased, can never become 
obsolete. 

The industry of one of his descendants has given the worUl 
a biography of Jonathan Edwards, which possesses historical 
interest,* Of the religion called " evangelical," he was per- 
haps, the most perfect exemplification that ever existed. The 
child was father of the man. We see him, as a boy of 
ten, building a booth in a swamp near liis father's house, to 
which he and two of his companions used to go regularly to 
pray. In his eleventh year, we read of his demonstrating, with 
a kind of solemn jocularity, the absurdity of an opinion which 
had been advanced by a boy of his own age, that the soul 
was material, and remained in the grave with the body till 
the resurrection. At twelve, we find him beginning a letter 
to one of his sisters thus : " Through the wonderful goodness 
and mercy of God, there has been in this i^lace a very re- 
markable outpouring of the Spirit of God." He proceeds to 
inform his sister that he " has reason to think it is in some meas- 
ure diminished, but he hopes not much, and that above thirty 
persons came commonly a Mondays to converse with father 
about their souls." At the same time, he exhibited in things 
not religious, an intelligence truly remarkable. He wrote, in his 
twelfth year, an elaborate description of " the wondrous way of 
the working of the forest spider," which shows that he possessed 
a rare talent for the observation of nature. One of the great- 
est of natural philosophers was lost to the world when Jon- 
athan Edwards became a theologian. 

At thirteen, he was one of the thirty-one students who, in 
171G, composed Yale College, and there occurred the events 
which decided his career. " Toward the latter part of my 

* The Life of President Edwards.— S. E. Dwigbt. New York : G. & C. 4 
H. CarvU; 1830. 



28 LIFE OF AAEON BURR. 

time at college," he wrote, " it pleased God to seize me with 
a pleurisy, in which he brought me nigh to the grave, and 
shook me over the pit of hell." Alarmed, the exemplary youth 
"made seeking his salvation the main business of his lite" — 
with the usual evangelical result. The other event was, for his 
country and the Protestant world, far more important. It 
was his reception of what theologians call the doctrine of 
election. 

From liis childhood up, as he himself records, his ingenuous 
mind had revolted from the idea of " God's choosing whom 
he would to eternal life, and rejecting whom he pleased, leav- 
ing them eternallv to perish and be everlastinirlv tormented in 
hell." But the time came when he thought be believed this 
doctrine. He could not tell how nor why. On a sudden, con- 
viction tlashed upon his mind, and what had once seemed a 
horrible doctrine, he contemplated with delight. Hencetbrth, 
the leisure of his life, and the best etVorts of his intellect, were 
devoted to its elucidation. His treatise on the "Freedom of 
the ^Vill," by which he is chietly known to the recent world, is 
an ingenious attempt to make that reasonable, which, not 
through his reason, he had himself received. To reconcile the 
orthodox tenets with the facts of nature and the reason of 
mim is the task at which the brain of New England grew 
large and the chest narrow. Of those who have lived and 
died in that vocation, the greatest and the best was Jonathan 
Edwards. 

Nobler than any of his works was the life of this good man. 
He was one ot' those who have deliberately incurred obloquy 
and ruin for conscience' sake. 

After leaving New York, he was a tutor in Tale College for 
a year or two, and was then chosen pastor of the church at 
Northampton. There, his preaching produced effects that 
have never been surpassed. His church became the largest 
Protestant society in the world. He stood at the head uf the 
clerical profession in New England. The " great awakening," 
of which so much appears in the writings of that day, began 
in his church at Northampton, and extended to the remotest 
colony in America, to England, and to Scotland. He was the 



JONATHAN EDWAED8. 29 

first American author who achieved a European reputation ; 
while lie was yet a young m;in, sermons and volumes of his 
Avere republished in Great Britain and widely circulated. At 
home, wherever he preached, crowds hung upon the lips of 
the great Mr. Edwards of Northampton. 

For' twenty-three years he held this unequaled position, a 
sliining liglit in the Protestant world, and dear to the pride of 
his own congregation. Then there arose a dispute between 
pastor and flock, whether saints and sinners were equally en- 
titled to partake of the sacrament, or saints only. The pastor 
was for excluding, the flock for admitting, sinners. The peo- 
ple appealed to the established custom of the parish ; the 
pastor, to the spirit and letter of the authoiitative writings. 
The people grew warm, refused their minister a hearing on 
the point in dispute, and clamored for his dismissal. He was 
dismissed. Himself, his wife, his ten children, were suddenly 
deprived of the means of living, and in circumstances that 
made it unlikely that he would be again able to practice his 
profession. 

That a company of Christian people, after having had for 
nearly a quarter of a century the best instructions in the prin- 
ciples of their faith that any congregation ever had, and that 
instruction enforced by a perfect example, should have been 
able thus to reward their religious teacher, is a fact, w^hich 
those who are curious in moral causes and efiects will always 
deem worthy of consideration. 

On this trying occasion, Jonathan Edwards honored human 
nature by the quiet dignity and grand forbearance of his 
conduct. He accepted soon the humble post of missionary to 
the Indians of Stockbridge, and labored there, this ablest of 
living preachers and theologians, with no less zeal and devo- 
tion than he had shown in his prime of popularity. There, in 
the space of four months and a half, he wrote his treatise on 
the Will, which is the Principia of Calvinistic theology. He 
wi-ote it when he was so embarrassed that he procured with 
difficulty the necessary paper, and parts of the work, like 
Pope's Homer, were written on the backs of letters and the 
blank pages of pamphlets. His wife, a lady magnificently en- 



so LIFEOFAAEONBURR. 

dowcd in person and mind, his dangliters, beautiful and full of 
talent, made lace and painted fans, which were sent to Boston 
for sale. 

Esther, tlie tliird of these lovely, industrious daughters, 
was already eighteen years of age when the family removed 
to Stockbiidge. Two years after, came to her home, on the 
edge of the wilderness, one of the most renowned and bril- 
liant members of her Other's profession. lie stood over her, 
or sat near her, one may fancy, as she wove her lace or painted 
her fan-pa[)er. He had an eye for a lady's hand, this clergy- 
man. He was not one of those grim-looking persons whose 
portraits form the hideous frontispieces to the religious books 
of that period, but a gentleman whose style and manner 
would liave graced a court. He staid only three days at 
Stockbridge, but after his departure the young maiden made 
no more lace and painted no more fans for the Boston ladies. 
Such, at least, was the gossip of the time, as one reads in let- 
ters which chance has preserved for the perusal of a prying 
biographer. 

The Edwards stock is famous in Ncav England. The re- 
motest known ancestor of the race was a London clergyman 
in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. Three generations of wor- 
thy, substantial persons, his descendants, lived in Connecticut. 
From Jonathan Edwards a surprising number of distinguished 
individuals have descended ; men of worth, talent, and sta- 
tion : women, beautiful, accomplished, and gifted. Histories 
of the United States have been ■written in which his name 
does not occur ; but upon every person reared since his day 
in New England he has made a discernible impression, and he 
influences, to this hour, millions who never heard his name. 
The thing he chiefly did in his life was this : the church and 
the world, two hostile bodies, were beginning, as it were, to 
relent toward one another, to approach, to mingle. Jonathan 
Edwards, with his subtle, feminine intellect and resolute will, 
threw himself between the two bodies, kept them apart, made 
more distinct than ever the line of demarcation, and rendered 
compromise between the two, perhaps, for ever impossible. 

Such a man was the father of Aaron Burr's mother. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE REVEREND AARON BURR, 

FATHER OP AARON BURR. 
Odtline op III8 EARLY lIisToiiT — Pastok OP Newakk Churcii — A Grkat ScirooL- 

AIA8TEB — PkKSIDKNT OP PRINCETON OOLLKGE — TlIK FIR8T COMMENCEMENT — SUDDEN 

Marbiaok op tub President — Ilia Writings — IIis Portrait. 

The Reverend Aaron Burr was a conspicuous and important 
person in his day. 

lie came of a Puritan family which may have originated in 
Germany, where the name is still common, but which had 
Nourished in New England for three generations, and liad 
^iven to those provinces clergymen, lawyons, and civilians of 
x)me eminence. He was born at Fairfield, in Connecticut, in 
1710, and graduated at Yale, with great distinction, in his nine- 
eenth year, Ilis proficiency in Latin and Greek enabled hira 
>o win one of the three Berkley scliolarships, which entitled the 
j.jossessor to a maintenance at college for two years after grad- 
uating. While he was pursuing his studies upon that endow- 
ment, ho was arrested, as college students frequently were in 
those days, by a ' revival of religion.' lie became a convert and 
a student of theology. " His human literature," to use the 
figure of one of his eulogists, " was thenceforward an obsequi- 
ous handmaid, ever ready to set off and embellish his mistress, 
Divinity." 

An account of his conversion, in his own words, has been pre- 
served. It is remarkable, among other narratives of the kind 
for its concise exactness of expression. " This year," he says, 
" God saw fit to open my eyes and show me what a miserable 
creature I was. Till then I had spent my life in a dream, and 
as to the' great design of my being, had lived in vain. Though 
before, I had been under frequent convictions, and was driven 



52 LIFE OF AAEON BURR. 

to a form of religion, yet I knew nothing as I ought to kno^». 
But then I was brouglit to the footstool of sovereign grace, 
saw myself polluted by nature and practice, had affecting views 
of the divine wrath I deserved, was made to despair of help 
in myself, and almost concluded that my day of grace was 
past. It pleased God at length to reveal his Son to me in the 
gospel as an all-sufficient Saviour, and I hope inclined me to 
receive him on the terms of the gospel." Plere is the whole 
body of Calvinistic divinity in a paragraph. 

At the early age of twenty-two he was the settled and pop- 
ular pastor of the Presbyterian church in Newark, New Jer- 
sey. Great 'revivals' followed his preaching. The placid but 
commanding eloquence of which he was, thus early in his 
career, a tinished master, was, by many, more admired than 
the torrent-like vehemence of "Whitetield, or the subtle argu- 
mentation of Edwards. We have a description of his mode 
of preaching from the pen of Governor Livingston of New 
Jersey, his friend in life, his eloquent eulogist atter his death, 
"lie was none of those downy doctors," said the governor, 
"who sootlie their hearers into delusive hope of divine accept- 
ance, or substitute external morality in the room of vital godli- 
ness. On the contrary, he scorned to proclaim the peace of 
God till the rebel laid down his arms, and returned to his al- 
legiance. He was an embassador that adhered llvithfully to 
his instructions, and never acceded to a treaty that would not 
be ratified in the court of heaven. He searched the conscience 
with the terrors of the law before he assuaged its anguish 
with the balm of Gilead, or presented the sweet emollients of 
a bleeding deity. He acted, in short, like one, not intrusted 
with the lives antl fortunes, but the everlasting interests of hi 
fellow mortals." 

It w'as customary at that time for clergymen to receive pu 
pils for instruction in the classical languages. Mr. Burr's rep- 
utation for eloquence and learning brought him so many boys 
that his private class grew rapidly into an important school. 
He kept ushers. He wrote a Latin grammar for the use of 
his pupils, which, under the name of the " Newark Grammar," 
was long the standard at Princeton. His success in teaching 



KEVEREND AARON BURR. 83 

was memorable. He possessed not only a happy method of 
giving instruction, but he had the rarer and higher art of in- 
fusing into his pupils his own enthusiastic love of learning and 
literature. He was an admirable teacher, jocund and winning, 
without losing or lessening his dignity or his authority. 

To his labors as pastor, schoolmaster, and author, were 
afterward added those of the President of the College of New 
Jersey, an infant institution which his toil and tact fostered to 
a healthy and vigorous growth. An article in an old news- 
paper,* published when George the Second was king, enables 
us to see this excellent, indefatigable man on that triumphant 
day of his life when the college conferred its first degree, in 
the presence of the governor of the province, and a great con- 
course of people. With amusing particularity the writer nar- 
rates the august ceremonies of the day : 

" His excellency (the governor) was preceded from his 
lodgings at the president's house, first, by the candidates 
walking in couples, uncovered ; next followed the trustees, 
two and. two, being covered ; and, last of all, his excellency, 
the governor, with the president at his left hand. At the 
door of the place appointed for the public acts, the pi'ocession 
(amid a great number of spectators there gathered) was in- 
verted, the candidates parting to the right and left hand, and 
the trustees in like manner. His excellency first entered with 
the president, the trustees went following in the order in 
which they were ranged in the charter, and, last of all, the 
candidates. 

" Upon the bell ceasing, and the assembly being composed, 
the president began the public acts by solemn prayer to God, 
in the English tongue, for a blessing upon the public transac- 
tions of the day ; upon his majesty. King George the Second, 
and the royal family; upon the British nation and dominions; 
upon the governor and government of New Jersey ; upon all 
seminaries of true religion and good literature, and particularly 
upon the infant College of New Jersey. Which being con- 
cluded, the president, attended in the pulpit by the Rev. 
Thomas Arthur, who had been constituted clerk of the cor- 
* Pennsylvania Journal, December 8th, 1748. 
2* 



84 LIFE OF AAROX BURR. 

poratioii, dosirod, in tho Kiiiilish tonguo, the nssoinbly to stand 
up and hoarkiMi to his miijostY's roval oliartcr, granted to tho 
tnistoos of tho Colloge of New Jersey. Upon whieh, the as- 
sembly standing, the eharter was distinctly read by the Rev. 
Mr. Arthur, with the usual endorsenient by his majesty's at- 
torney-general, and the oertitieate, signed by the secretary of 
the province, of its having been approved iu council with his 
exeelleney. After this, the morning being spent, the presi- 
dent signified to the assembly that the sueeeeding acts would 
be deferred till two in the atVernoou. Then the procession, iu 
returning to the president's liouse, was made in the order be- 
fore observed. 

"The like procession was made in the alternoon as in the 
morjiing, and the assembly being seated in their places and 
composed, the president opened the public acts, lirst, by an 
elegant oration in the Latin tongue, delivered nu'nioriter, 
uiodestly declaring his unworthiness and imlitness for so 
weighty a trust as had been reposed in him ; ajiologizing iov 
the defects that would unavoidably appear in his part of the 
present service ; displaying the manifold advantages of the 
liberal arts and sciences in exalting and dignifying the human 
nature, enlarging the soul, improving the taeulties, civilizing 
mankind, qualifying them tor the important othces of life, and 
rendering men useful members of church and state. That to 
learning and the arts was chiefly owing the vast preeminence 
of the polished nations of Europe to the almost brutish sav- 
ages in An\eriea, the sight of which last was the constant ob- 
ject of horror and eonuniseration. 

"Then the president proceeded to mention the honor paid 
by our ancestors iu Great Britain to the liberal sciences, by 
erecting and endowing those illustrious seminaries of learning 
which for many ages had been the honor and ornament of 
those happy isles, and the source of infinite advantages to the 
people there, observing that the same noble spirit had ani- 
mated their descendants, the first planters of America, who, 
as soon as they were formed into a State, in the verv infancy 
of time, had wisely laid religion and learning at the foumla- 
tion of their commonwealth, and had always regarded them 



KEVKKEND AARON BURE. 35 

as the firmest pillars of their church and State. That hence, 
very early, arose Harvard College, in New Cambridge, and 
afterward, Yale College, in New Haven, which have had a 
growing reputation for many years, and have sent forth many 
hundreds of learned men of various stations and characters in 
life, that in different periods have proved the honor and orna- 
ment of their country, and of which the one or the other had 
been the alma mater of most of the literati then present. 

" That learning, like the sun in its western progress, had 
now begun to dawn upon the province of New Jersey, through 
the ha[)j)y influence of its generous patron, their most excel- 
lent governor. 

"These, and many other particulars, having, more oratoria^ 
taken up three quarters of an hour, and the Thesis being dis- 
persed among the learned in the assembly, the candidates, by 
command of the president, entered upon the public dispu- 
tation, in Latin, in which six questions in philosophy and theol- 
ogy were debated, one of which was, whether the liberty of 
acting according to the dictates of conscience in matters 
merely religious, ought to be restrained by any human power? 
And it was justly held and concluded that liberty ought not to 
be restrained. 

" Then the president, addressing himself to the trustees, in 
Latin, asked whether it was their pleasure that these young 
men who had performed the public exercises in disputation 
should be admitted to the degree of Bachelor of the Arts? 
Which being granted by his excellency in the name of all the 
trustees present, the president descended from the pulpit, and 
being seated with his head covered, received them two by 
two, and, according to the authority to him committed by the 
royal charter, after the manner of the academies in England, 
admitted his young scholars to the degree of Bachelor of the 
Arts. 

"In the next place, his excellency, Jonathan Belcher, Esq., 
governor and commander-in-chief of the province of New 
Jersey, having declared his desire to accept from that college 
the degree of Master of Arts, the other trustees, in a just 
sense of the honor done the college by his excellency's conde- 



;^0 t, TKK OK AAIU^N UUUU, 

soension, most lioartily linviiij;- ^imiiUhI liis roqnosi, (ho prcsi- 
dont, risino- uiu'ovcrod, ndtlrossod liimscli' to liis oxoellonoy, 
and accordiiiL;,- lo tho saiui> niitliority loiumittod to hiiu by tlio 
voyal I'liartor, allor the maimor ol' iho acadoniios oC Kn<;land, 
admittod him (o (ho doi^roo of IMastor of Arts. 

"Thou tl>o [)rosidont asooudod the 2)ul|>it, and oonmiandi'd 
tho orator i^ahttatorius to ascend the rostrnm, wlio, being Mr. 
Sanuiol Thano, just before graduated l>aolielor of the Arts, ho 
in a modest anil decent mamier, lirst apologizing for bis in- 
sutlioioncy, and then having s]n>ken of the excolloncy of tho 
liberal arts and sciences and of the numberless benefits (hey 
yielded to mankind in private and social life, addressed him- 
self in bccomimr salutations and thanks to his excellencv and 
the trustees, the president, and tho whole assembly, all which 
biMug performed in good Latin, from his memory, in a hand- 
some oratorical manner, in tlu^ space of aboiit half an hour, 
the president concluded in Mnglish, Avith thanksgiving to 
heaven and prayer to CyOi\ tor a blessing on the scholars that 
bad received the p\d)lio honors oC tho day, and for the smiles 
of Heaven upon tho infant College of New Jersey, and dis- 
missed the assembly. 

"All which being performed (o tho great satisfaction oi' all 
present, his (>xcellency, \\\\h (he trustees and scholars, re 
turned (o the house of the president in tho order observed in 
the morning, where, atler sundry by-laws were made, ehiotly 
for roiiulating the studios and maimers of the students, they 
agreed upon a corporation seal." 

The president was oidy thirty-two years of age when those 
scones transpired. He was a n\an small of stature, very hand- 
some, with clear, dark eyes oi' a sotl luster, quite nnliko tho 
picrcin<j: orbs of his son ; a figure compactly formed, but 
siMiiowhat slender, and with the bearing of a prince. Tlie 
fascinating manner and lolVy sfi/fe of Mr. President Burr are 
frequently mentioned in tho K>tters cf tho period. On this 
great oceasi(>n we can well believe that there was an inqMOvSS 
ivo oharm in his movements and delivery. 

For eight years a(\or his elecdon to the presidency, he 
retained his church and his school, and traveled far and wide 



n K V IC U K N I) A A K O N n U K R . 87 

ill collecting funds (or the collogo, and promoting lotteries foi 
its benefit. And such were liis t;il<!iitH for tlio dispatch of 
biisine.sH tliut, wliih; l)ot,li tlie school and the church continued 
to ))ros[)er, the coll(;ge increased in ten years from eiglit stu- 
d<!iits to ninety; and from being iin institution without house, 
land, endowment, or reputation, to one having all these in 
sufficiency. 

A file of letters from one of Mr. Burr's pui»ils to liis father, 
](reserv(;d by a happy chance among the pa[)ers of an old 
J'hila<leljWiia family, afford us, at this distance of time, an 
insight into the very class-room of the president. The be- 
loved, the zealous, the enlightened teacher is exhibited in 
these letters. A single fact reveal(!d in tlusm is enough to 
])rove him a sii])eri()r and a catholic rniinl. And that fiict is, 
that though the president was, jxsi-haps, the first classical 
scholar in the provinc(!S, he was also warmly interested in 
natural science, and eagcir to interest the students in it. He 
taught them himself how to calculate eclipses. On one occa- 
sion, when, after a long negotiation, he had induced a hicturer 
by the offer of forly j)oiiiiils, to come from I'hiladelphia and 
exil»it his philosophical apparatus, all other studies were laid 
aside for some weeks before the philosopher's arrival, in order 
that the students might d(!rive the greatest possible advantage 
from witnessing the (jxperinuints. The lecturer, it af»p(!ais, 
excited so much interest in "the n<;wly-discovered fluid called 
electricity," that some of the students set about making small 
electrical machines. 

In the midst of all this cheerful and wise activity occurred 
an event in Mr. Burr's history which gave the gossips of the 
])rovince employtncint (;nough. Until his thirty-seventh year 
tli(! president shamed the ladies of New Jersey by living a 
bachelor. In the summer of 1752, to the surj)risc of every 
one, and in a manner the most extraordinary, he wooed and 
W(Mld(;d the lovely and vivacious Esther Edwards. Some 
hints of the oddity of this affair, wdiich apjictared in the New 
York Cutetle for the ^Oth of July, 1752, the letters of the 
young g(;ntleman just referred to (iiiable us to explain. The 
u I iter III l,li(^ (iazctte^ aller mentioning the marriage, with due 



38 LITE OF AAEON BURR. 

praise of tlio wedded pair, remarked that he supposed there 
had not been for some centuries a courtship more in the 
patriarchal mode, and jocosely advised young gentlemen to 
follow the president's exam})le, and endeavor to restore 
courtship and marriage to their original simplicity and design. 

The young letter-writer's version of the story is the follow- 
ing : " In the latter end of May the president took a journey 
into New England, and during his absence he made a visit of 
but three days to the Kev. Mr. Edwards's daughter at Stock- 
bridge ; in which short time, though he had no acquaintance 
with, nor had ever seen, the lady these six years, I suppose he 
accomplished his whole design ; for it was not above a fort- 
night after his return here, before he sent a young fellow 
(who came out of college last fall) into New England to con- 
duet her and her mother down here. They came to town on 
Saturday evening, the 27tli ult., and on the Monday evening 
following the nuptial ceremonies were celebrated between Mr 
Burr and the young lady. As I have yet no manner of ac- 
quaintance with her, I can not describe to you her qualifica- 
tions and properties. However, they say she is a very valuabL 
lady. I think her a person of great beauty ; though I must 
say she is rather too young (being twenty-one years of age) 
for the president. This account you will doubtless communi- 
cate to mannny, as I know she has Mr, Burr's happiness much 
at heart." 

Two weeks later he M'rites to his " dear mammy" on the 
engrossing subject: "I can't omit acqumnting you that our 
president enjoys all the happiness the married state can afford. 
I am sure when he was in the conditioji of celibacy the pleas- 
ure of his lite bore no comparison to that he now possesses. 
From the little acquaintance I have with his lady, I think her 
a woman of very good sense, of a genteel and virtuous edu- 
cation, amiable in her person, of great aftability and agree- 
ableness in conversation, and a very excellent economist. 
These qualiiications may help you to form some idea of the 
person who lives in the sincerest mutual affections with Mr. 
Burr," 

'Pile marriage was speedily, but not rashly, concluded. The 



K K V !C l{ K -N 1) A A 11 () N H LJ li R. 39 

presidont, it is prohablc, li.ul not ^een tlie young lady since 
slio wiis fifteen ; but nt that a<^e her fiither thought her woman 
enough to be a mernbcu" of his church, and it was a character- 
istic of tliat cultivated and spiritualized iiunily to conio eai'ly 
to maturity. 

Besides, the name of President Burr was a liousehold word 
in the family of Jonathan Edwards. The two men, long as- 
sociated in sclumios for Christianizing the Indians, were also 
formed by nature to be friends, because each could see in the 
other admirable (pialities wanting in himself. Edwards was 
reflective and studious, without tact or knowledge of the 
world, full of matter, but not skillful iu wielding it. lie la- 
mented his awkward address and unimposing presence. "I 
have a constitution," he says in a well-known ])ass:ige, "in 
many res])ects })eculiarly unha|)py, attended with fla(;cid 
solids, vapid, sizy, and scarce fluids, and a low tide of spirits; 
often occasioning a kind of childish weakness and contem)>ti- 
blcness of speech, ])resence, and demeanor, and a disagreeable 
dullness and stilfiiess, nnich unfltting me for conversation." 
Here we see the Student, who bent over his books fourteen 
hours a day, who took his meat and his drink by weight and 
measure, and whose utter sincerity rendered him powerless to 
subdue or to manage a fractious congregation. Admirable to 
such a man must have seemed the alert and brilliant Burr, so 
thoroughly alive, with every faculty at instant coimuand, of 
dauntless self-possession, with a presence and address that 
invited confldence and disarmed impertinence. Burr, on his 
part, had modesty and good sense enough to know that, with 
all his shining qualities, he was no moi-e the superior of 
Jonathan Edwards, than an armory is superior to the mine 
of ore from which the polished weapons of a thousand armo- 
ries can be made. There was no need of a long courtship, 
then, for Esther Edwards to learn that Mr. President Burr 
was a man to make happy the woman he loved. 

JJesides the " Latin Granunar," Mr. Burr published a con- 
troversial ". Letter" on the ■" Supreme Deity of our Lord Jesus 
Christ," which was reprinted in Boston thirty years after the 
author's death. An occasional sermon of his was also pub- 



40 LIFE OP AARON BCRR. 

lished in his life-time. Two Latin orations by him have been 
preserved in manuscript, and many letters in English, One 
of these letters may close this chapter. 

The letters of the religious people of those good old days 
give little insight into the individuality of the writers ; hu- 
man nature being under a theologic ban, and allowed to ex- 
hibit itself as little as possible. But the following letter* is 
an interesting relic, as it is characteristic of the age, if not of 
the man. It was written to a Mr. Hogg, a merchant in Scot- 
land, where, by order of the kirk, a collection for the College 
of New Jersey was made in every parish. After acknowledg- 
ing the unexpected magnitude of the Scottish contribution, 
the pious president proceeds : 

"AYe have begun a building at Princeton, which contains a 
hall, library, and rooms to accommodate about an hundred 
students, though it will not any more of it be linished than is 
absolutely necessary at present — with an house for the presi- 
dent. 

" We do every thing in the plainest and cheapest manner as 
for as is consistent with decency and convenience, ha^•ing no 
superfluous ornaments. There was a necessity of our having 
an liouse suflicient to contain y^ students, as they could not 
lodge in private houses in that village where we have fixed the 
college ; which, as it is the centre of the province, where pro- 
visions are plenty and tirewood will always be cheap, is doubt- 
less the Attest place we cou'd have pitch'd upon. The buildings 
prove more expensive than we at first imagin'd, from the best 
computations we could get ; but by the smiles of heaven upon 
us we shall be able I think to compleat what we design at 
present; and have at least a fund left of £1,(300 (sterling), 
which with the other income of the college, will be sufficient 
for the present officers and a little more, as money here will 
readily let for 7 per cent, interest with undoubted security. 
This fund will be encreased by what we get from Ireland, and 
a little more we expect from South Britain [/. e. England] ; 
and we hope by the help of some generous benetlictors here 

* This letter was published, a year or two since, ia the Gentkmar\!s Maga- 
zine, of London, merely as a curiosity accidentally preserved. 



REVEREND AARON BURR. 41 

and abroad to be able before long to support a Professor of 
Divinity. That office at present lies on the president, with a 
considerable part of the instruction in other branches of liter- 
ature. The trustees have their eyes upon Mr. Edwards, and 
want nothing but ability to give him an immediate call to that 

office. 

" The students in general behave well ; some among them 
that give good evidences of real piety, and a prospect of special 
usefulness in the churches of Christ, are a great comfort and 
support to me under the burden of my important station. 

" I may in my next give you a more particular account of the 
college. It is at present under flourishing circumstances in 
many respects ; has grown in favor with men, [and] I would 
humbly hope [with] God also. 'Tis my daily concern that it 
may answer the important ends of its institution, and that the 
expectations of our pious friends at home and abroad may not 
be disappointed. 

« I shall not fail to acknowledge my Lord Lothian's gener- 
osity. I am sorry Messrs. Tennant and Davies neglected sea- 
sonably to acquaint their friends in Scotland of their safe 
arrival, etc. I hope their long and tedious passage, and the 
confusion their affairs were probably in by their long absence, 
may be something of an excuse. I can testify that they retain 
a very lively sense of the most generous treatment y* they and 
the college met with in those parts. 

" The defeat of General Braddock was an awful but a season- 
able rebuke of Heaven. Those that had the least degree of 
seriousness left could not but observe with concern the strange 
confidence in an arm of flesh and disregard to God and religion 
that appear'd in that army. Preparations were made for re- 
joicing at the victory, as tho' it had been ensured, and a day 
appointed for the obtaining it. The whole country were 
alarm'd and struck with astonishment at the news of his defeat, 
and some awaken'd to eye the high hand of God in it, who had 
tho't litle of it before ; and I can't but think God has brought 
good to the land out of this evil.* 

* A letter of Edwards, of nearly the same date, likewise contains some 
comments on these transactions. He says, " I had opportmiity to see and con- 



42 LIFE OF AARON BURR. 

" On the contrary, God was acknowledged in the array that 
went from CroMn Point, vice and debauchery suppressed in a 
manner that has scarce been seen in this land, and was much 
admired at by those that saw it. This was much owing to 
Major-General Lyman, with whom I am well acquainted. He 
s a man of piety, and for courage and conduct, a spirit of 
government and good sense he has not his superior in these 
parts. He acquitted himself with uncommon bravery and 
good conduct in the engagement at Lake George, Sept. 8th, 
and it was owing to him, under God, y* the victory was ob- 
tain'd, which prov'd a means of saving y^ country from ruin,- 
as has since more fully appear'd by the scheme y® French 
general had laid. I gave [have given] this hint about Mr. 
Lyman because Mr. Edward Cole, one of y^ officers, being 
offended y* he banished some lewd women from the camp y* 
he had brought Avith him, wrote a letter to scandalize him, 
hinting that he was a coward, tho' numbers that were in the 

verse with ministers belonging to almost all parts of North America ; and, 
among others, Mr. Davies of Virginia. He told me that ho verily thought 
that General Braddock's defeat, the last summer, was a merciful dispensation 
of Divine Providence to those southern colonies. He said that notorious 
wickedness prevailed to that degree in that army, among officers and soldiers, 
and that they went forth openly in so self-confident and vain-glorious a man- 
ner, that if they had succeeded the consequence would have been a harden- 
ing of people in those parts, in a great degree, in a profane and atheistical 
temper, or to that purpose ; and that many appeared very much solemnized 
by the defeat of that army, and the death of the general, and so man}- of the 
other chief officers ; and some truly awakened. And by what I could leani it 
had something of the same effect among the people in Xew York and New 
Jersey. And the contrary success of the New England forces neai- Lake 
George, when violently attacked by Baron Dieskau and the regulars from 
France with him, who had been tlie cliicf French officer on the Ohio in the time 
of the engagement with General Braddock, one of which officers was killed 
by our forces and the other taken — I say the contrary success of the New En- 
gland forces seemed to confirni the aforesaid eftect ; it being known b}' all 
how widely this army differed from the other, in the care that was taken to 
restrain vice and maintain religion in it ; particularly by Major-General Lyman, 
the second officer in the army, a truly worthy man ; a man of distinguistied 
abilities and virtue, as well as uncommon- martial endowments, who above 
any other officer was active in tho time of tho engagement." — Lett&r to Dr. 
Gillies, December 12th, 1765. 



EEVEREND AARON BURR. 



43 



engagement have fully establish'd his character as one of the 
bravest officers, who expos'd himself in the hottest fire of the 
enemy, animating his men. And General Johnson himself 
acknowledges y^ honor of the day was due to Mr. Lyman. 

" The state of these American Colonies at present looks dark. 
We are divided in our councils. Some are of such a spirit 
that they will forward nothing but what they are at the head 
of themselves. Several of the governors of the continent are 
now met at New York, to concert measures for the safety ot 
[the] country. Much will depend on the result of this meet- 
ing. When I consider y^ crying iniquities of the day I cannot 
bu't tremble for fear of God's judgments that seem to hang 
over this sinning land. 

" I have lately had a letter from Stockbridge, Mr. Edwards 
and his family are in usual health, except his daughter Betty, 
who is never well, and I believe not long for this world. Theii 
situation is yet distressing, thro' fear of the enemy. My wife 
joins me in respectful and alTectionate salutations to you and 
your son. I add but my poor prayers and ardent wishes yt 
your declining days may be fill'd with comfort and usefulness, 
yt you may have a late and an abundant entrance into y^ 
everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 

Amen." 

This was the quality, these were the deeds of the father of 

Aaron Burr. 

The college at Princeton is his monument ; its very walls 
testify to his^thoroughness and integrity. The interior of the 
main building has twice been destroyed by fire, but the build- 
ers who are restoring the edifice declare that no walls which 
they could now erect would equal in strength those which 
were constructed under the superintendence of President 
Burr. The house which he built for his own residence has 
been occupied by the presidents of the college ever since. 
Its solid structure, and si)acious, lofty apartments, seem still to 
testify to the liberal mind and hand of him who planned it. 

The portrait of President Burr, which is preserved in the 
college library, is a careful copy of an original that was lost 
and injured during the Revolution, but afterward discovered 



44 LIFE OF AARON BURR. 

and restored. Fineness of fiber, refinement, and utter purity 
of mind, energy, serenity, and seraphic benevolence, are 
equally Expressed in this picture. Near to it leans upon the 
■wall Peale's vast portrait of Washington, the most physical ot 
all the portraits of AVashington that were taken from life. 
The contrast is striking. That one of these men should be 
universally accepted, without questioning, as our greatest and 
best, "while the other is scarcely known, compels the spectator 
to doubt the correctness of one or the other of these portraits. 



CHAPTER III. 

AARON BURR BORN, AND LEFT AN ORPHAN. 
Removal to Princkton - Last Laboes and Death of President Buer-Ciiab- 

AOTBB AND DEATH OP MRS. BuRR — TuE OrPUANED CHILDREN - SaRAH BUER. 

Two children blessed the union of President Burr with Es- 
ther Edwards ; Sarah Burr, born May 3d, 1Y54 ; and Aaron 
Burr, born February 6th, 1756. Newark, in New Jersey, 
was the birth-place of both these children. 

The college buildings at Princeton were nearly completed 
when Aaron was born. In the autumn of that year, the re- 
moval took place ; the college of New Jersey added a local 
habitation to its well-earned name. The president, to the 
great sorrow of his congregation, resigned the pastorship of 
the Newark church, which he had served for twenty years 
with the ever-growing love of its members. The good people 
would scarcely let him go. They said that the connection 
between pastor and flock, like that between husband and 
wife, was indissoluble, except by death or infidelity. To this 
day, the First Presbyterian church* of Newark cherishes 
with afiectionate pride the memory of this man, eminent 
among the many eminent men who have stood in its pulpit. 

To'Princeton, then, the president and his family removed 
late in the year 1756. A letter by one of the trustees of the 
college at that time, sets forth that " the salary of the presi- 
dent is two hiandred pounds proclamation money, with the 
perquisites, amounting at present to about thirty pounds, and 
yearly increasing ; a large, well-finished dwelling-house, gar- 
dens, barn, out-houses, etc., with a considerable quantity of 
pasture-ground and firewood, do also belong to the president." 
* History of the First Church at Newark, N. J., by Rev. Dr. Steams. 



46 LIFE OF AARON BURK. 

All this was, probably, equal to an income of three thousand 
dollars at the present time. 

And now, having lived to establish on a firm foundation the 
College of New Jersey, President Burr's work on earth was 
done. The manner of his death was in keeping with his char- 
acter. At the end of the summer of 1757, in very hot 
weather, he made one of his swift journeys to Stockbridge. 
What it was to travel^ a hundred years ago, is sufficiently 
known. Returning rapidly to Princeton, he went imme- 
diately to Elizabethtown, a hard day's ride, to procure from 
the authorities there a legal exemption of the students from 
military duty. The next day, though much indisposed, he 
preached a funeral sermon at Newark, five miles distant. 
Then he returned to Princeton. In a few days he went to 
Philadelphia on other business of the college, and, on his re- 
turn, was met by the intelligence that his friend, and the col- 
lege's friend. Governor Belcher, had just died at Elizabeth- 
town, and that himself had been designated to preach the 
funeral sermon. His wife besought him to be just to hiniselt* 
and decline the oflice. But he, accustomed to subdue obsta- 
cles, and desirous to do honor to his departed friend, sat 
down, all fatigued and feverish as he was, to prepare his ser- 
mon. Before he slept, it Aras finished. That night he was 
delirious, but in the morning he set off for Elizabethtown ; 
and on the day following, with a languor and exhaustion he 
could no longer conceal, he preached the sermon. ITncon- 
quered yet, he next day returned home, Avhere his fever, from 
being intermittent, became fixed and violent. At the ap- 
proach of death, he was resigned and cheerful. He felt as- 
sured of immortality. On his death-bed he gave orders that 
his funeral should be as inexpensive as was consistent with 
decency, and that the sum thus saved should be given to the 
poor. On the 24th of September, 1757, in the forty-second 
year of his age, this good man died. 

His death was widely and sincerely mourned. His funeral 
sermon ; the eulogiums pronounced upon him by the Governor 
of New Jersey ; the notices of his death in the public journals, 
?aid many private letters in which the sad event is mentioned, 



AAEON BUER'S BIRTH AND ORPHANAGE. 47 

have come down to us ; and all speak of him in terms that 
would seem extravagant eulogy to one unacquainted with the 
noble heart, the brilliant intellect, the beneficent life of Presi- 
dent Burr. In the letters of his wife, it is easy to see through 
the pious phraseology of the day, the heart-broken woman. 
" O, dear madam," writes the poor bereaved lady to her 
mother, "I doubt not but I have your, and my honored 
father's prayers, daily, for me ; but, give me leave to intreat 
you both, to request earnestly of the Lord that I may never 
despise his chastenings, nor faint under this his severe stroke ; 
of which I am sensible there is great danger, if God should 
only deny me the supports that he has hitherto graciously 
granted. O, I am afraid I shall conduct myself so as to bring 
dishonor on my God, and the religion which I profess ! JSTo, 
rather let me die this moment than be left to bring dishonor 
on God's holy name. I am overcome. I must conclude, with 
once more begging that, as my dear parents remember them- 
selves, they would not forget their greatly-afflicted daughter 
(now a lonely widow), nor her fatherless children." 

A letter to her father, written a month after the above, 
besides being very pathetic, contains allusions to her boy, 
then twenty-one months old : " Since I wrote my mother a 
letter, God has carried me through new trials, and given me 
new supports. My little son has been sick with a slow fever, 
ever since my brother left us, and has been brought to the 
brink of the grave ; but, I hope in mercy, God is bringing him 
back again. 1 was enabled, after a severe struggle with nature, 
to resign the child with the greatest freedom. God showed 
me that the children were not my own, but his, and that he 
had a right to recall what he had lent, whenever he thought 
fit ; and that I had no reason to complain, or say that God 
was hard with me. This silenced me. But O how good is God. 
He not only kept me from complaining, but comforted me, by 
enabling me to ofier up my child by faith, if ever I acted faith. 
I saw the fulness there was in Christ for little infants, and his 
willingness to accept of such as were offered to him. ' Suf- 
fer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not ;' 
were comforting words, God also showed me, in such a lively 



^^ LIFE OF AAKON BUKB. 

manner, the fulness tltero was in himself of all spiritual bless- 
ings, that I saul, ^Although all streams are out off, yet so 
long as my God lives, I have enougli.' Ho enabled me to sav 
Although thou slay me, yet will I trust in thee.' In th'is 
tamo ol tnal, I was led to enter into a renewed and explieit 
covenant with God, in a nun-e solenui manner than ever b.>- 
lore ; and with the greatest freedom and delight, atter much 
selt-exauunatum and prayer, I did give mvself imd mv ehildren 
to God, with my whole heart. Never, until then,'had I an 
adequate sense of the privilege we are allowed in eovenaiui.ur 
with God. This act of soul letl my mind in a great eahn, and 
steady trust in God. A few days atler this, one evening-, in 
talkmg ot the glorious state my dear departed husband must 
be m, luy soul was carried out in sueh large desires atter that 
glorious state, that I was forced to retire^ from the family to 
conceal my joy. When alone I was so transported, and my 
soul earned out in sueh eager desires atter perfection and the 
lull enjoyment of God, and to serve him iminterruptedlv, that 
I think luy nature would not have borne mueh more, f think 
dear sir, I had that night, a foret;vste of heaven. This framj 
continued, in some good degree, the whole night. I slept but 
httle, and when I did, my dreams were all of heavenly and 
divme thmgs. Frequently sinee, I have felt the s:ime in khid, 
though not in degree. This was about the time that God called 
me to give up my ehild. Thus a kind and gracious God has 
been with me, in six troubles and in seven." 

In these utterances of a broken heart struggling ag-aiust the 
impiety of despair, there is no trace of the peculiar diaraeter 
ot Aaron Burr's mother. Of the childrou of Jonathan Ed- 
wards, not one was a common-place pei-son, and sc^ircelv one 
even of his grandchildren. But Mi-s. Burr was, perhap.s the 
flower ot the tamily. One of her relations has written of her 
those sentences : - She exceeded most of her sex in the beaut v 
ot her person, as well as in her behavior and conversation She 
discovered an unaffected, natural freedom, toward persons of 
all ranks, with whom she convei-sod. Her genius was much 
more than common. She had a lively, sprightly imagination, 
a qvuck and penetz-ating discernment, and a" good judgment.' 



AARON iarr.K'« niiiTii and ouimianagic. 49 

Sho possessiHl Mu imcoiuiuon aogroo of wit and \ iviicity ; which 
yot was coiusistent with ploasiuitnesH and ^rood iiaturo ; ami 
sho know how to bo facetious ami sportive, witliout trospass- 
iuo- on tho l.oumls of aocorum, or of strict aiul serious reh.^ion. 
Lfshort, sho soemed fornunl to pK>aso, and ospocially to ploaso 
one of Mr. liurr's tasto and character, in whom lie was ox- 
ceedlnoly happy. \>nl what crowned all her oxcolloncos, and 
was her chief -lory, was Kki.huon. She appeared to be the 
subject of .livine impressions when seven or ei^Iit years oUl ; 
.„ui she made a public profession of rolioion when about ht- 
toen. Her convwsation, until her dralh, was exemplary, as 
befcomoth godliness. Sho was, in every respect, an ornanuMit 
to her sex, beint,- equally distinouished for the suavity ol her 
manners, lu>r literary aecomplishments, and her unfeigned re- 
gard to religion. Her religion ilid not cast a glooni over lior 
mind, but ma.lo her cheerful and happy, and rendered tho 
thought of death transporting. She left a number of manu- 
Hcripts, on interesting subjects, and it was hoped they would 
have been made public; but they are now lost." 

Di-ath had only begun his fell work in their family, .loniv 
than Edwards was iinmediatoly oloctod to auccood Mr. Burr 
in the presi(Uuicy of tho college. Soon after his arrival at 
Princeton, ho hoard of tho di«ath of his father, a venerablo 
clergyman of Connecticut, in the eighly-ninth year of his age. 
Two months after, before he had fully entered upon his duties 
as president, died Jonathan Edwards himself, of a fever which 
follo.wed inoculation for small-pox. Sixteen days after, of 
a similar disease, Mrs. Burr died. I For two orphaned ehildreii 
wore taken from her funeral to the house of an old friend of 
the family in riiiladelphia, where they remained six months. 
In the fall of the same year, the widow of Jonathan Edwards 
went to Philadelj)hia with tlu; intention of convoying tho little 
orphans to her own hon\e, and bringing them up with hoi- own 
children. At Philad(>lphia, slu« was sei/.ed with the dysentery, 
and she too died. Thus within a period of thirteen months, 
these children were of tiither, mother, great grandfather, and 
grand parents, all boroll ; ami there was no one loll in tho 



60 LIJF U O F A A K O N B r K K . v. 

wide world whose eMef eoucorn it could be to see tliat they 
reooiveil no detriment. 

All but the groat i::r:^ndti^ther lie buried :\t rrinoeton, where 
the virtues :uul gin^oes of the two president* are elaKn-^uely 
set forth in lapidivrv Latin. Strange to sav, some of the letters 
rv^peeting the carving of Prosident Burr's tomb-stone have es- 
c«ih.h1 the chances of destruction for a hvmdred yeiir§, and anj 
still legible to the biographic eye. 

President Burr lert his childivn considerable property; 
enough for their independent maintenance, even in maturity. 
They were reareii at Elizabethtown, New Jersey, in the femily 
of the Hon. Timothy Edwanls, PiVisident Edwards's eldest 
son. A private tutor, Mr. Tapjvan Reeve, afterwarvl Judge of 
the IS^upreme Court of Connecticut, superintended their ear- 
Iii\jt stuilies, .and in due time fell in love with his pretty pupil, 
Sarah Burr, and when she was seventeen married her. That 
she loved her b1x>ther dearly, is all that is known of Sarah 
Burr's childhood. One of Aan>n's early tvrresjx>ndents sa)-s 
that site approve\.l of her brv>ther's going to the war in 1775, 
which, he adds, "is a great prvx>f of patriotism in a sister so 
afleotionate as your^" She \vas of a noble, commanding tac4? 
and tiguro. As she was for many years an invalid, and died 
at a comjvvratively early ago, she had little to do with her 
brother's life, though she leil upon his memory a tender rvx»l- 
kvtiou of her worth and loveliuess, which he cherished and 
sjvke of to his dying day. 

XOTS. — ? ■ ■ • ■ ■ , ■ \ ■ • . • 

(Ha(C«> Tb? IJUlovTHj^ is lh?r tiescriptwn cf Aaroa irb@n he vra* thirK^a 
HM9atti& old: "-" .-1. 1T5^. — Asu\>a fe . " iK>i?y K\v. v«rv 

fSS^t^At frvsa Sv- . ..^ ia «?\-vrv{iiin^. ": ^^ . > . talk a Kctle; is 
wry- sly ansi aieclui?Yvxsiw He has uk«^ s?if^iL\iws5 thaa Sa%, aad uicel 
$j^ he is haoti^xcKv bus iws so j^- He b very regoi^ite^ swlnr 

quiwss a gvxxl svvvTucr i;o trtu^ i^..„ ., .. i. 



CnAPTER lY. 

THE EDUCATION OP AARON BUPvR. 

Ku/!.\«KTin\nvN' — .Vxkopotks op Ri'rr's CutLPnoop — TIis Oakkkk at Ooh.kur — Oom 
TV* Ok. 15ki.\..vmv's 'ruKv'>i.ooiv\v\. Sohool — Kkjkov«tuk ri-Kn'AsioTuKOLOOY — Fond 

VK U\l>tKS' SOCIKTY — ^Tl'lnKS l.WV. 

EuzAuvMUiowN was then, as it is now, a Yillai]^^ containing 
an nnnsnal proportion of polite tamilies. It had boon the resi- 
dence of the governor and other oflicials of the province. 
The vicinity is a k>vel, ved-soiknl, unattractive region ; but a 
littU* river tlows through it, emptying, at a point one mile 
from the village, into Staten Island Sound, which is part of 
the intricate system of waters that atVords so many heautiful 
highwavs to the citv of Xew York. That city is tit\eeti miles 
distant. AVithin excursion distance is Staten Island, where, 
dmiug Aaron Inu-r's childhood, large bodies of liritish troops 
Avere frequently encamped. 

Pi-om the three anecdotes of Burr's childhood, which have 
oon\e down to us, we may infer that he was a troublesome ward 
to his reverend uiu^le. That gentleman, a strict and conseien- 
tious Puritan, tried the system of /"c •/>/•(»•/(>// upon a boy who 
could not be repressed ; and the result was, that the young 
gentleman was frequently in a state of rebellion. The author- 
ity for these anecdotes was Colonel Burr hiuxself, who used to 
relate th.e two principal ones with great glee. 

When he was four yeai-s old, he took otVense at his tutor 
aiul ran away, lie contrived to elude the search for three or 
tour days, and — there the story ends. 

About his eiii'hth vear, the following incident occurred: 
He was in 'a cherry-tree in his uncle's garden, one tine after- 
noon in July, when he observed, coming up the walk, an el- 
derly lady, a guest of the house, wearing a silk dress, which 



ft2 \. 1 V ic o K ,v A K o N r- V n k . 

Nv:is tluMi :i r;iro lu\urv. Tho prim bolunior :u\t.l sovoro mo- 
rnlity oftliis smouMit luaidoti had inado hor a soinowhat odious 
objoot in tho sight of tho bo v. Oonooalod in the troo, he 
aiuiisod himsolfby tlwowiug ohonios at hor: upon obsm'vinjj 
whioh, sho angrily sought I'nolo 'Timothy, to toll hitu of Aaron's 
misoonduot. Tho boy was suininouod lo tho study, whoro tho 
onjJo was troatod in tho sovoro Puritanic uu^thod. Fii'st oamo 
u long loot nro upon tho ononnity of tho otVonso ; whioh was 
folloNvod by a long prayor tor tho otVotulor's roforniatiou. 
.From tho boginning of thoso ooronuuiios, tho bov woU know 
how thoy woro to ond. and ho oonld form an idoa of tho so- 
Nority of tho ooming pui\ishuun\t tVom tho lougth of tho prayor 
ami oxhortatiou. A torriblo oastigation followod ; or, as liurr 
usod to phraso it, " ho liokod mo liko a saok." 

Thoso woro tho days, it should bo boruo in mind, whou tho 
old roooivod souunhing liko honni<;e from tho yovuig. Tho 
ohildron ot" ,loiu\thau F.dwarvls, for o\au\plo, roso at tho ou- 
tnujoo of thoir pai-outs : and whou thoy mot m tho sti^H^t a 
olorgymau or old poi-sou, thoy stood asido, took otV thoir hats, 
and bvnvod, and waitod till tho iworoud ii\dividual had gouo 
bv. In tho oYos of l't\olo 'Huiothv, tluuoforo, tho bov's atlrout 

« * * • 

to his oldorlv gvuvst would sooni a orimo of audacious magui- 
t\ldo. 

At tho ago of tou, Aaron had tho taucv which besots u\ost 
active boys ouco during thoir childhood, to go to soa. A soo- 
oud tituo ho ran away. Uo wont to Now York, took the p«.>st 
of 0,'^bin-boy ou board a ship getting ready for se.^, suid actu- 
ally served in that capacity for a sliort time. But, one day 
while )\e was at woik ou the quarter-deck, he spied a sus- 
picious clerical-looking getitUunan coming rapidly down the 
whart', who, he soon s.aw, was his uncle, bent ou the captuix* 
of a oabii\-boy. lie sprang into the rigging, and beforo his 
xmcio got ou boanl the ship, had climbed to tho mast-head. 
He Siiw his advantage, and ivsolved to pivtit by it. lie was 
ordered vlowu, but refused to cou\e. As his uncle was a gxni- 
tlemau w ho would have boon nowhere less at homo than at 
tho uisHst-head of a sliijs tho Oinumand had to sot^en itself into 
,Hn ontivaty, and it became, tinally, a negotiation. X'jK>n the 



TUK KPUOATION OK AAKON HUKU, 



f)r> 



oouditioii dial iiothinsx (lisao-rooablo sliould botkll him in oon- 
soqnoin'O of tho ivavonturo, the runaway ugrooa to abscond, 
aiul u'o homo auain to his hooks. 

Thoso Ulllo stoi-ios oxhibit tho ri>bol moroly. A aocisivo 
tkot or two of nil opposito uatiin> has Wen \uc^cv\vd. Tior- 
poiit. KawiU-as, auothor mu lo oi' Aaron Ihirr's, bnt only six 
yoars his senior, was his schoolloUow for a. whiK> at KU/.aboth- 
tinvn. Oiw oi' Piorpont's bettors, written whon Aaron was 
sovon yoars oUl, contains this sontonoo: ''Aaron Unrr is lioro, 
is hoaity, .u'oos to school, mid learns hrairli/:'' The fact ot 
riorpont Kawaras bein^- liurr's sehoolfoHow, ami one who, 
fi\)m his aiie, talents, ami relationship, wonhl be likely to 
exert great inlluenee upon him, shonUl be notea ; for Tierpont 
Kawaras, besiiles being a great lawyer, was also a remarkably 

free liver. 

There is other testimony to Aaron's ailigenee as a stuaent. 
At the age oi' eleven lu> was preparea for eollego, ami apply- 
ing for aamission at Prineelon, was rejeetea on aeeonnt ot^ his 
youth, lie was not only too young, but the smallness of his 
"stature iiKule the api)lieation seem riaieulons. lie was thi>n a 
strikingly pri'tty boy, very fair, with beautiful black eyes, and 
sueh graeeful, engaging ways as remlerea him a favorite. 
What the qualilieatiiMis were for admission into college, at 
that time, may be iuferrea from another remark in the letter 
of Pierpont Kawar.ls just quotea. " T am rcaaing Virgil and 
Greek grammar," he says; " I wouKl have enti<rea college, 
but my eonstilution would not bear it, being weak." A boy 
jiblo to read Virgil, and who knew the (^,reek alphabet, could 
have obtained admission into the Freshman class at rrincetou 
at that time. Hut, ci>nsideriug the imperfect aids to tho ac- 
quisition oi' the language which schoolboys then had, we may 
assign tlu^ character oi' a forwanl and industrious boy to one 
\vho \\:is read}' for college at the age (»f eleven. 

This rejectio'n on account of his want of years ami inches 
Avas a source oi' deep mortification to the aspiring lad. Ho 
did his best, however, lo frustrate tho college authorities by 
mastering at homo tho studios of tho first two college years, 
and then, in his thirteenth year, applying for ailmission into 



54 LIFEOFAAKONBUER. 

the Junior class. This, too, was denied him ; and, more as a 
favor than as a right, he was allowed to enter the Sophomore 
class. He should have been fifteen years old to have joined 
the Sophomores. It was in 1769, during the presidency of 
Dr. Witherspoon, a Scotch clergyman, in whose veins flowed 
the blood of John Knox, that Aaron Burr began his residence 
at Princeton. 

His career at college was similar to that of thousands of 
American youth. He went to Princeton with extravagant 
ideas of the acquirements of collegians ; but with a resolution 
to be equal with the foremost. The first year he studied 
excessively hard. Finding that he could not acquire as well 
in the afternoon as in the morning, and attributing the fact to 
his eating too much, he became very abstemious, and was 
then able to study sixteen, and occasionally eighteen, hours a 
day. He became pale, and was supposed to be in ill health. 
When the day of examination came, he found himself so much 
in advance of his classmates, that the motive to such extra- 
ordinary exertions no longer existed, and, thenceforward, he 
was as idle as he had formerly been industrious. 

It has been said, and apparently on his own authority, that 
he was dissipated at college ; but his dissipation could scarcely 
have been of an immoral nature. Princeton was then a very 
small village, nearly surrounded by dense forests, in the midst 
of a region containing, at wide intervals, a settlement of 
Quakers or Dutch. There was no large town or navigable 
water within many miles. The village was the half-way sta- 
tion, on the high road between New York and Philadelphia, 
travelers to either of which would usually stop at Prince- 
ton at night. A coach load of people, and several other trav- 
elers, were at the tavern nearly every night in the week. For 
their amusement, a billiard tabl'e was kept in the place, but 
Burr played only one game. On that occasion, it chanced 
that he won a small sum, and on going home, he felt so de- 
graded by the circumstance, that he resolved never more to 
play at any game for money ; and he kept his resolution. At 
the tavern, too, the students could procure the luxuries of the 
table. But Burr, then and always, was a Spartan in eating 



THB EDUCATION OF AARON BUKE. 55 

and drinking. And with regard to guiltier pleasures, lie was 
but sixteen when he graduated; the place of his residence 
was rustic and Puritanic Princeton ; and the time was not far 
removed from the days of the " Scarlet Letter." It was not till 
after he had left college that he adopted the opinions which 
took the reins of passion out of the hands of conscience, and 
gave them into those of prudence. 

Part of Burr's dissipation m college was merely a dissipa- 
tion of mind in multifarious reading. That he was versed m 
the polite literature of the day, is evident in his compositions. 
He was, also, a constant reader of the lives and histories of 
great military men. During Burr's boyhood, the fame of 
Frederic the Great filled the world. The Seven Years' War 
began when he was in the cradle, and the most brilliant achieve- 
ments of the great captain were fresh in men's minds while 
the youth was in his susceptible years. As the supposed cham- 
pion of Protestantism against the leagued Catholic powers, 
Frederic was greatly admired in the American provinces, 
and the splendor of his reputation may have had its share in 
giving Burr his life-long love for the military profession. The 
old French war, too, was not concluded when Burr first saw 
the light. The provinces were full of wild tales of that most 
romantic of contests, during all of his earlier years. And 
long before he left college, were heard the mutterings of the 
coming storm which was to summon from their retirement, 
and crown with new laurels, so many of the rustic soldiers 
who had won distinction in that toughly-contested forest war 
which secured this continent to the race which holds it now. 

A college freak of Burr's excited a great deal of mirth 
among the students at the time. He was a member of a lite- 
rary club, the Clio-Sophie, the members of which presided at 
its meetings in rotation. On one occasion, when Burr was in 
the chair, a professor of the college, from whom he had re 
ceived many an unwelcome admonition, chanced to come in 
after the business of the evening had commenced. Burr, as- 
suming as much of professorial dignity as his diminutive stat- 
ure admitted, and with that imperturbable self-possession for 
which he was distinguished, ordered the professor to rise. He 



56 LIFE OF AAEON BURE. 

then began to lecture the delinquent upon his want of punctu- 
ality, obser^ing that the older members of the society were 
expected to set a better example to the younger, and conclud- 
ing with a hope that he should not be under the necessity of 
recurrmg again to the subject. Having thus given the profes- 
sor a parody of one of those harangues which preceptors 
are prone to bestow upon neglectful pupils, he informed him 
that he might resume his seat; which the astonished gen-^ 
tleman did, amid the merriment of the society. This story^ 
used to be told of Burr at Princeton, years after he had left ' 
college. 

His college compositions, of which several have been pre- 
served, indicate an unusual maturity in a youth of fifteen 
years. Style is the subject of one of them, the burden of 
which is to recommend conciseness and simplicity, which were 
always the characteristics of his own writings. " A labored 
style is labor even to the hearer," observes the young critic, 
" but, a simple style, like simple food, preserves the appetite." 
He contends for a colloquial m-wc^ueY, and mentions Sir Thomas 
Browne's Treatise on " Vulgar Errors" as an example of ab- 
surd pomposity. " There is no such thing," remarks the youth, 
" as a sublime style / sublimity is in the thought^ which is ren- 
dered the more sublime by being expressed in simple lan- 
guage." This is not the usual tone of a college composition. 
Another of Burr's college essays, is on The Passions. He could 
not have read Goethe's oft-declaimed observation, " Man alone 
is interesting to Man," because Goethe at this time was himself 
a college student at Strasbourg ; yet Burr opens his discourse 
upon the passions quite in the spirit of the Goethean maxim. 
Nor could he have known the office assigned the passions by 
phrenologists, for Gall was then a boy three years old ; yet he 
says that the grand design of the passions is to rouse to 
action the sluggish powers of the mind. "The passions," 
he adds, " if properly regulated, are the gentle gales which 
keep life from stagnating, but, if let loose, the tempests which 
tear every thing before them." He continues in the following 
strain : " Do we not frequently behold men of the most 
sprightly genius, by giving the reins to their passions, lost to 



THE EDUCATION OF AAEON BURR. 



57 



society, and reduced to the lowest ebb of misery and despair? 
Do we not frequently behold persons of the most penetratnig 
discernment and happy turn for polite literature, by mingling 
with the sons of sensuality £ind riot, blasted in the bloom ot 
life ? Such was the fate of the late celebrated Duke of Whar- 
ton, Wihnot, Earl of Rochester, and Villers, Duke of Buck- 
ingham, three noblemen, as eminently distinguished by their 
wiX taste, and knowledge, as for their extravagance, revelry 
and lawless passions. In such cases, the most charming elocu- 
tion, the finest fancy, the brightest blaze of genius, and the 
noblest bursts of thought, call for louder vengeance, and damn 
thom to lasting infamy and shame." He says, in conclusion, 
« Permit me, however unusual, to close with a wish. May 
none of these unruly passions ever captivate any of my au- 

ciiGncG " 

One'of these college pieces, entitled " An Attempt to Search 
the Origin of Idolatry," is interesting, as showing that the 
writer, whatever may have been his subsequent opinions, was, 
while in college, a sharer in the faith of his fathers. His conclu- 
sion is, that the accursed Ham, or his accursed sons, were the 
inventors of idol worship. An incidental opinion expressed 
in this piece is, that atheism is more odious than idolatry. 

It is unsafe to infer the character of a writer from the char- 
acter of his writings, as the power of some writers consists in 
an ability to give striking expression to emotions which they 
merely see it would be highly becoming in them to feel. But 
we would scarcely beheve this of a boy of fifteen. So far as 
Burr's youthful essays do reveal his character, they seem to 
show that, at this period of his life, he possessed an acute in- 
tellect, an independent habit of thought, and an ingenuous, 
amiable disposition. During Burr's last winter in college, 
there occurred one of those periodical excitements with regard 
to religion which were so important a feature in the. early 
history'of the provinces ; an excitement similar to that which 
had diverted Burr's grandfather from natural science to theol- 
ogy, and won his father from the enthusiastic pursuit of clas- 
sical literature. This revival was one of more than ordinary 
intensity, and a large number of the students became converts. 

3* 



68 LIFE OP AAEON BUKR. 

Burr, then very idle, and devoted to such pleasures as the 
rustic neighborhood afforded, was urged both by the jprofess- 
ors and by his companions, to renounce his way of life and follow 
the example of his eminent ancestors. But he held quietly 
aloof. As the excitement increased, his friends redoubled 
their efforts. They appealed to his feai's, threatening him with 
all the terrific penalties of the law, if Ae, descended from such 
illustrious exemplars of the faith, he, the son of a father so 
eloquent in its promulgation, of a mother who had so longed 
and importuned for his conversion, should finally become a 
castaway. Burr confessed that he was moved by this revival. 
He respected the religion of his mother ; he had taken for 
granted the creed in which he had been educated. Therefore, 
though he was repelled by the wild excitement that prevailed, 
and disgusted by the means employed to excite terror, his 
mind was not at ease. He consulted Dr. Witherspoon in this 
perplexity. The clergymen of the time were divided in opinion 
upon the subject of revivals : those educated in the old country 
being generally opjjosed to them. President Witherspoon was 
of that number, and he accordingly told the anxious student 
that the raging excitement was fanatical, not truly religious, 
and Burr went away relieved. 

It is not unlikely that if the promoters of that revival had 
appealed solely to his sense of the becoming and the just, 
Aaron Burr might have been won to their views, and might 
have lived over again, on a greater scale, and with greater re- 
sults, the life of his father. But the attemi^t to strike terror in 
the soul of one who never knew what it was to be afraid, was 
a failure, of course. 

A habit formed by Burr, at college, had an important influ- 
ence upon his fortunes at the critical point of his career. It 
was the habit of writing his confidential letters in cipher. The 
practice was common at the time. The letters of all the emi 
nent men of the revolutionary period, Washington, Jefferson 
Hamilton, Adams, and the rest, contained evidence of an 
habitual distrust of the public conveyance of letters. This 
distrust existed before the Revolution, during the Revolution, 
and after the Revolution : down, in fact, to the time when the 



THE EDUCATION OF AARON BURR. 



69 



mere multitude of letters was their best protection. The fear 
was not so much that letters would not reach their destination, 
as that they would be read on the way. Burr's practice, 
therefore, of writing in cipher to his sister and to his class- 
mates, was in conformity with the feeling and habit of the 
time, and not merely an evidence of a peculiarly secretive 
character. But he was secretive— often absurdly so-as hi8 
adoption of this custom in his boyish correspondence might 

have led one to suspect. , , , .., ,-{. 

He formed friendships in college that ended only with hie. 
William Patterson, afterward a Judge of the Supreme Court 
of \,he United States ; the gallant Colonel Matthias Ogden, of 
New Jersey ; Samuel Spring, who became a distmguished 
divine, and who was the father of Dr. G. Spring, a still more 
eminent theologian, were among those whom he loved at col- 
leo-e and who loved him while they lived. Samuel Spring 
beliame a student of theology at Newport before Burr grad- 
uated and he wrote to his friend upon the charms of divmity, 
and in a modest, manly way, urged him to fulfill the hopes of 
his parents by devoting himself to the same pursuit. 

In September, 1'7'72, when he was sixteen years of age, 
Burr graduated at the College of New Jersey with distinc- 
tion. He delivered an oration on commencement-day with 
considerable, but not distinguished, applause. His manner 
and bearing were graceful. The matter of his discourse was 
good, but he spoke with uneffective rapidity, and with an em- 
phasis so frequent and intense as to partly defeat the object of 
emphasis. Nevertheless, his friend Patterson was of opmion 
that, if Burr was not the best of the speakers, there was but 
one who excelled him. 

He continued to live at Princeton for several months after 
receiving his degree, during which he read extensively, re- 
viewed tome of his college studies, added many volumes to 
his collection of books, took part in the exercises of the Clio- 
Sophic Society, and amused himself to the extent afforded by 
the place in which he lived. His income was ample for the 
maintenance of a young man, and he was in no haste to choose 
a profession. In the spring and summer of 1773, he was 



60 LIFE OP AARON BUR K. 

much at Elizabethtown, One of his favorite pleasures there 
was boatino-, an amusement for which the neighboring waters 
afford facihties perhaps unrivaled in the world. Burr knew 
every inlet and islet of those waters, and could manage a boat 
with much skill. The experience gained in his aquatic ex- 
cursions there was turned by him to excellent account on sev- 
eral occasions in his subsequent career of adventure and vicis- 
situde. 

A year of busy idleness the youth passed in these scenes 
before he began to think seriously of the future. After leav- 
ing college, and indeed long before, he was quite his own mas- 
ter, his uncle having early relinquished his endeavors to con- 
trol the movements of a ward who knew how, in all circum- 
stances, to have his own Avay. But a profession was now to 
be chosen. His relations, the friends of his father, and many 
in whose memory the mother of this youth was still most fresh 
and fragrant, hoped, expected^ tliat he would, in due time, be 
attracted to the profession which so many of his ancestors had 
adorned. Not wantonly, nor hastily did he decide to disap- 
point these expectations. The uneasiness of mind which had 
been created during the great revival at Princeton, had been 
allayed, but not removed, by his conversation with Dr. With- 
erspoon, and he was now determined upon settling his theo- 
logic difficulties for ever. A mind so active, penetrating, and 
fearless as his, inust have come in contact with the ske{)ti- 
cism that was then the rage in Europe, and which had capti- 
vated the Jeffersons and Franklins of America. He could not 
have escaped it, for it pervaded the books which he was most 
sure to be drawn to. He resolved, therefore, instead of sub- 
jecting himself to be tried by the theology of the day, whicth 
was what his pious friends desired, to put that theology itself 
upon trial. 

Dr. Joseph Bellamy, of Bethlehem, Connecticut, who had 
studied theology imder Jonathan Edwards, was, in some de- 
gree, the inheritor of his master's jDreeminent position in the 
clerical world. Great was his fame as a preacher. His pub- 
lished works were popular in his life-time, and continued to be 
printed many years after his death ; and so many candidatts 



THE EDUCATION OF AARON BUBR- 



61 



for tlie ministry repaired to him for instruction in divinity, 
that bis house assumed sometliing of the importance of a theo- 
looical seminary. To this learned and famous doctor, young 
Burr addressed himself, and requested permission to reside m 
his school while he was employed in the study of theology. 
With the joyful consent of his guardian, and to the great sat- 
istaction of Doctor Bellamy, Burr, in the autumn of 17Y3 
went to live in the doctor's family, and entered at once with 
his usual ardor upon the investigations he had proposed to 
himself Doctor Bellamy, it appears, was one of the gentle- 
men who plumed themselves upon their skill in the Socratic 
or question-asking method of argumentation in which Frank- 
lin, among many others of the time, took great delight. The 
object of the honest divine was, as we said, to prevent his pu- 
pils from taking any dogma for granted, or from accepting 
their opinions without consideration from the hps ot their 
teacher. Sometimes he would exchange with one of them 
the part of Socrates, himself playing disciple, and submitting 
to as severe a course of questions as the skill of the young 
gentleman enabled him to devise. 

This were a dangerous game to play with a lad of Burr's 
mettle. When both Socrates and disciple arc perfectly agreed 
beforehand as to the conchision to which the argument is to 
conduct them; when, in a word, the exercise is merely play, 
it may be amusing and satisfactory. But when the disciple 
has begun to suspect that Socrates is behind the age, inas- 
much as the choice spirits of the age are not at all of his way 
of thinking, and when that disciple, beside being utterly fear- 
less of the consequences of dissent, possessed a remarkable 
address and imperturbable coolness in arranging his questions; 
in such circumstances, Socrates is likely to lose a pupil. Be- 
tween Dr. Bellamy and Aaron Burr, precisely the same catas- 
trophe occurred as came to pass a year or two later m Gei^ 
many between young Jean Paul and the Conrector of the Hot 

Gymnasium. . . 

'The zealous conrector, as we read in Carlyle's exquisite 
article upon Jean Paul, desirous to render his school as much 
liUo a university as possible, had public disputations m the 



li'J L 1 F K I) K A A U O N U V K U. 

school oooas'uHially. '' r>v ill-liu-k one day, tho worthy prosi- 
»loiil had soloolod some ohuroh-artiolo for tho thomo of suoh a 
disjiutatioM ; ono boy was to iloloml, ami it loll to raul's lotto 
im|)Ui;n tlio vlounia ; a task ho was vory spooially qualiliod to 
uudortako. Now, honost Paul know nothing ol' tho limits ot" 
this gaujo ; uovov droanU, but ho n\i>;ht arguo with his wholo 
stronLith, to whntovor vosultvS it niiuht load. In a tow rounds, 
uooorvlinii'ly, his antagonist was borno out ol" tho ring, as good 
ns lit'oloss; and tho conrootor hinvsolt', seeing tlie danger, had, 
ns it were, to di'soend iVoni his prt>siding ohair, and ela]> the 
gainitlets on his own more exi>erieneed hands. Kut Paul, 
nothing dauntoil, gave him also a Koland tor an C)liver; njiy, 
as it beeame more and n\ore manifest to all eyes, was last ro- 
dueing him also to tho tVight fullest extremity. The eonreo- 
tor's tongue threatened eleaving to the roof of his mouth, for 
his brain was at a stand, or whirling in eddies, only his gall 
was in aotive play. IS'othing remaiived for him but to close 
tlio debate abruptly by a * iSiieuct\ sirra/i^ and leave th<i 
room.'' " 

All over tho worUl, in that century o^ skeptieisni, similar 
scenes were transpiring. At tHt'ord, in Kngland, as Hentham 
records, "intidclity" was the fashion; there were Atheist's 
clubs it! the \miversity. A t'cw years later, a similar state of 
things existed at Yale, whicl> rctpiircd all the eloquence and 
tact o( the able Trcsident Owight to suppress. 

A tew n\onths' residence with Or. Hellamy sutliced for l>urr. 
^Ye soon find him writing to his triend «.\gdcn, at Kli/.abeth- 
lown, that he J\ad the good old doctor eonxpletely under his 
thumb! Ogden replies that he is glad to hear it ; and pr^v 
ceeds to give Hnrr the gossip of the tashionable society at 
New York. In the sun\n\er of ITtt, Kurr letl Dr. Uellamy 
with the conviction, to use his own language, that "the road 
to heaven was open to all alike." In other words, he rejected 
the gospel, according to.lonathan Edwards ; rejected it, as ho 
always maiiitained, at\er a calu\ and full investigation ; rejected 
it completely and for ever. To the close of his life, he avoided 
disputes upon i\uestions o^ religion; and when, on one or two 
occasions onlv, he was drawn into such a discussion, he rt^ 



'Ill 10 Kl) no All UN O \<' AAKON llUltU, G3 

pi-oaclu'd hiinsrir l"or liis Colly alli'i-ward. Ollcii lu* was ad- 
dii'sscd by ri'laiivcs, anxious (,o sec liiiu troadiiiii; in tlio i'oot- 
Htcps ol" liis TatluM-, OClcn letters woro Hout him, Av;iniiiig him 
to rtipcMit. He lu'iUu'f ii'sciilcd nor rt'oardt'd those woll- 
moant cndoiivorH ; but waived (licm usicUi with good-Iiumorcd 
<j;raee, and sonielinu>s even witli teiKh'riiess. 

Tlie s;-os[iel which tlie youiii;; man accepted, Hved by and 
died in, was the jjjospel nccordintif to I'iiiiip Dormer Stanhope, 
liord ChcsterlieUl ; whicli, Ironi litirr's day to liiis, has Itccii 
cidtivated Yoiin<jj America's usual poor recoil Iroiu tlie I'liri- 
ianisuM ol' its (Oiildhood. C'lieslcrfudd hims(>U' was not a more 
consummate Chestei lieldiaii tiian Aaron JJiirr. Tiie intre|)id- 
ily, the sel ('-possession, the consideration for otliers, the pur- 
suit ol" l<no\\'l('dL!,(', which ( 'licstcrlicld (u)inmends, were a,ll 
illustrated in the cOiaracter ol" the younjjf AmericiUi, who also 
a,vaile(l himsell' ol" iho /irez/sc which that ])errect man of the 
world allowed himseU', and recommended to his son. 

The summer of 17V4 l>iirr spent lit Litchlield, (.onnecticut, 
at the house oC Mr. ''rapi)an llcovG, his brother-in-law. llo 
had decided to study law, bnt, h\ no haste to bej^in, he passed 
some months in readinji,', lidiiiL!,', hunlino-, and llirtin^". Already, 
lie possessed that [»owiM- ol" pleasing- the liiir lor which he was 
afterward noted, and already olhcions relations l)(><j,an to 
sp(>('.uhUo upon him as a subject for matrimony. Uncle Thad- 
d(!us r.iirr, as wo learn from otio of Aaron's hitters, liad his eye 
upon a yoniit;- lady, whoS(> person and I'orlnne he was fond of 
t'xtoUint^ in his handsome nei)hew''s hearintif. i>ut the nephew 
was deaf and dumb on those occasions, and resolved, at length, 
to b(! round with Uncle 'fhaddeus, when next he Hhould indul<;'0 
in these broad hints. At the same time, tlm yoimtif beau was 
all gallantry t-o (he ladies, who evidently occupied (luunselves 
more than a little in u;ossipin<i; about him; bnt he seems to 
have distributed his attt'iitions so equally amonij; them all, that 
no two people conkl agree* on the same lady to tease him with. 
One lady, ho tells his friend Ogden, had actually made love to 
him, whicli, he says, made him feel foolish enough. His let- 
ters, after leaving Dr. llellaniy and theology, contain very 
frequent allusions to ' the girls.' They wore evidently, during 



64 1. 1 F E O V A A U O N H U U It . 

the leisure mouths of 1774, the chief suhjoct of liis tlioughts, 
and one of the most frequent objects of his attention. 

Now, too, his instinctive love of intrigue began to exliibit 
itself. A friend of his received a letter from a young female 
relative, which Burr, for a joke, offered to answer, and did an- 
swer, in the name of his friend. He carried on a correspond- 
ence with the girl in this way, but, as he told Ogden, avoided 
scrupulously to draw from her any thing she would choose 
he should not know. " I would sidfer crucilixion," he said, 
"ralher than be guilty of such un])aralleled meanness." A 
horror of meanness is frequently expressed in Burr's early let- 
ters. "My idea of a devil," he once observed, " is com])osod 
more of malice than of meanness." There are hints of other 
intrigues with fair ladies in tiiese joyous letters, but so vaguely 
expressed as to convey no information to the reader. 

The impression left on the mind of any candid reader of 
Burr's correspondence at this period, is favorable to him. A 
gay, liandsome, innocent, honorable, rollicking young man, 
high-s})irited, fond of the girls, an enthusiastic friend, an hitel- 
ligent reader, and an independent thinker. Every body liked 
liitn, and many predicted his future eminence. Of his own im- 
mediate circle of friends, he was the youngest, but it is evident 
that they all unconsciously regarded him as a kind of chief. 
They s}>eak of his generous heart, and his excellent judgment, 
and betray in all their letters to him a friendship of the warm- 
est character. 

As the winter of 1774 drew on, these hapjiy young men 
were drawn from the light pursuits pro})cr to their age by the 
portentous aspect now assumed by the quarrel between the 
colonies and the mother country. New England was alive 
with excitement. Her younger spirits, so far from fearing, 
had begun to desire a conlliet with the royal troops. Burr 
auil his set had been ardent Whigs from the beginning of the 
dispute. Tlu'y had studied the subject together, and liurr, in 
particular, had made himself master of the law of the case, 
and renewed with enthusiasm the military studies which had 
always interested him. As early as August, 1774, we find him 
eager for the fray. A mob had torn down the house of a man 



THE EDUCATION OF AARON BUKK. C5 

suspected of being unfriendly to the liberties of the people, 
!ind the sheriff, who had arrested eight of the ringleaders, 
brought them to Litchlield, where Burr was. The next day, 
lifty horsemen, each armed with a white club, marched into 
Litchfield to rescue the prisoners, and Burr sallied forth to 
join in the threatened contest. But, to his boimdless disgust, 
the horsemen could not be induced to make the attempt, and 
to crown the infarmy of the occasion, he says, "the above men- 
tioned sneaks all gave bonds for their api)earance to stand a 
trial at the next court for committing a riot." From the man- 
ner iu which Burr narrates this incident, it is certain that he 
was ready for the great fight, eight months before the first 
blood was shed. 

In those montlis, lie began the study of the law under Mr. 
Tappan Reeve, at Litchfield, and had made some slight prog- 
ress therein when the news of Lexington, the news that 
hlood had been shed, electrified the thirteen colonies, and 
summoned to arms their gallant spirits of every degree. 



CHAPTER Y. 

THE VOLUNTEER. 

Eds Qualifications as a Soldier — Joiiis Tnn Army AROtrND Boston — Arnold's 
Expedition to Quebec — Burr's Secret Mission from Abnold to MoNTGOMEur 
— Appointed aid to General Montgomert — The Assault upon Queheo — 
Captain Burr bears off tue Body of ms General — Appointed Aid to General 
Washington — Keasons of his Discontent in that Situation. 

As one Avho had been waiting for the signal, this young 
8tudent-at-law thi-ew aside his books, and seized the sword, on 
fire to join the patriot forces gathered around glorious Boston. 

He felt that he was formed to excel as a soldier. A mere 
stripling in appearance, with a stature of five feet six inches, a 
slender form, and a youthful face, he yet possessed a power 
of prolonged exertion, and a capacity for enduring privation, 
that were Avonderful in a youth of nineteen. His courage 
was perfect — he never knew fear ; even his nerves could not 
be startled by any kind of sudden horror. He was a good 
horseman, a good helmsman, a tolerable fencer, and a decent 
shot. Moreover, he loved the military art ; knew all of it 
that could be learned from books, and more highly prized the 
soldier's glory than that of any other pursuit. To these quali- 
ties he added a mind cultivated and most fertile in those sug- 
gestions for which the exigencies of war furnish such frequent 
occasions. And with all his power to win the confiding love 
of equals and inferiors, men saw in his face and bearing what 
Kent loved in Lear, authority ! 

No period of Aaron Burr's life is better known than the 
time he spent in the revolutionary army. Two or three times, 
in the latter part of his life, he was a claimant under the pen- 
sion and compensation acts passed for the benefit of the sol- 
diers of the Revolution ; and, to substantiate his claim, his fel- 
low-soldiers gave wi'itten and sworn testimony respecting his 



THE VOLUNTEEE. 67 

services, some of them narrating, with great particularity, 
exploits of his which they had themselves witnessed. Much 
of this evidence was given by persons well known for their 
public services, and of veracity beyond question. The num- 
ber, the coincidence, and the enthusiasm of these depositions, 
place the essential truth of their statements beyond reasonable 
doubt. Burr, too, in his old age, loved to talk over those bright 
years of his youth, and some of the incidents about to be re- 
lated were derived directly from friends of the old soldier, to 
whom he used to tell them. He was proud of his military career. 
What he achieved in law and in politics were as nothing in 
his eyes in comparison with his deeds as a soldier of the revo- 
lutionary army. 

On hearing of the battle of Lexington, he wrote imme- 
diately to his friend Ogden, urging him to come with all possi- 
ble rapidity to Litchfield, and they woidd then together start 
for the scene of war. But Ogden replied that he could not 
in such haste make preparations to leave home. Burr wrote 
again. While Ogden seemed still undecided, came the most 
thrilling piece of news that breath ever uttered on this conti- 
nent — the news that a thousand of the flower of the British 
army had fallen on Bunker Hill under the fire of a band of 
rustic patriots. Burr could bear inactivity no longer. He 
mounted his horse, and rode in hot haste to Elizabethtown ; 
there aided Ogden in his preparations for a campaign ; and 
the two friends then made their way to the camp near Boston. 
They arrived in July, 1775, only a few days after General 
Washington had taken the command. 

The scene presented to the eyes of the commander-in-chief 
on his arrival at Cambridge has been too often described to 
require more than an allusion here. In the various camps 
and posts around the city, there were seventeen thousand 
half-armed, ill-clad, undisciplined, and unorganized troops, 
commanded by officers who were either ignorant of their duty, 
or reluctant to give offense by. performing it. The health of 
the men was endangered by the want of a camp police to en- 
force the regulations, without which large bodies of men can 
not exist together. Burr was not prepared for such a scene 



68 LIFE OP AAEON BUEE. 

of disorder, and still less for the inactivity to which this mot- 
ley host was condemned. He, and thousands of others, had 
rushed to the seat of war in the hope that Lexington and 
Bunker Hill were to be followed up by affairs still more deci- 
sive ; and this nameless boy, of course, caught no whisper 
of the dreadful secret, confided only to general officers, that 
there was not powder enough in the whole army to fight an- 
other Bunker Hill, if the occasion should arise. As the youth 
wandered from camp to camp, he became a prey to disappoint- 
ment, mortification, and disgust ; and, after passing a month 
of this most wearisome idleness, he actually fretted himself 
into a kind of intermittent fever, and was confined for several 
days sick in body and in mind. 

One day, as he was tossing in his bed, he overheard Ogden 
and others talking in the next room of an expedition that was 
on foot. He called Ogden to his bedside, and asked what 
expedition it was of which they had been talking. Ogden 
replied, that Colonel Arnold was about to march with a thou- 
sand volunteers through the forests of Maine to attack Que- 
bec, and thus complete the conquest of Canada so gloriously 
begun by General Montgomery, who was already master of 
Montreal, Instantly Burr sat up in bed, and declared his de- 
termination to join the expedition ; and, quietly disregarding 
Ogden's remonstrances, began, enfeebled as he was, to dress 
himself All his friends in the army were aghast at his reso- 
lution. But no argument and no persuasion could move him 
when his mind Avas made up. Go he would. Under the 
stimulus of a congenial object, his health improved, and in a 
very few days he was ready to proceed to the rendezvous at 
Newburyport, distant thirty miles from Boston. Ogden and 
others of Burr's acquaintance were conveyed to Newburyport 
in carriages ; but Burr, accompanied by four or five stout fel 
lows whom he had equipped at his own expense, shouldered 
his knapsack and marched the whole distance. 

In the mean time, his Uncle Timothy had heard of his un 
manageable ward's intention, and loving the lad none the less foi 
the trouble he had given him, dispatched a messenger, post 
haste, to bring the fugitive back, peaceably if he could, forcibly 



THE VOLUNTEEE. 69 

if be must. The messenger conveyed to Burr a letter from 
bis uncle commanding his return, and a whole budget of epis- 
tles from other friends, setting forth the horror of the contem- 
plated march, and imploring him to give it up. " You will 
c?2e," wrote a young physician of his acquaintance, " I Icnow 
you will die in the undertaking ; it is impossible for you to en- 
dure the fatigue." Upon reading his uncle's peremptory let- 
ter, he looked coolly up at the messenger, and said : " Suppose 
I refuse to go, how do you expect to take me back ? If you 
were to attempt it by force, I would have you hung up in ten 
minutes." The messenger paused a moment ; then gave him 
a second letter from his imcle, upon opening which Burr dis- 
covered a remittance in gold. In this letter his uncle used 
entreaties only. It was full of the most affectionate and en- 
dearing expressions, depicted the inevitable miseries of such 
a march, and the grief that would afflict his family if he should 
fall. Burr was moved — his feelings, but not his resolution. 
Tears filled his eyes as he read this letter, but he could not 
now retire from a scheme in which his heart, and, as he sup- 
posed, his honor, was embarked. He told his uncle so in re- 
spectful and tender language, thanking him for the care he 
had taken of his childhood, and explaining why he could not 
in this instance comply with his desire. The messenger de- 
parted, and the young soldier rushed upon his destiny. 

On the 20th of September, the troops, eleven hundred in 
number, embarked at Newburyport, in eleven transports ; and, 
sailing to the mouth of the Kennebec, found provided for 
them there, two hundred light batteaux, suitable for ascend- 
ing the river. In a few days the little army had gone by the 
last outpost of civilization, and was working its way through 
a wilderness of which enough still exists to show the adven- 
turous tourist what it must have been before the foot of civil- 
ized man had trodden it. It was a wonderful, an unparalleled 
march ; one that American troops, native to the wilderness, 
alone could have achieved. For thirty-two days they saAv no 
trace of the presence of human beings. Not once or twice 
merely, but thirty times, or more, the boats, with all their con- 
tents, ammunition, provisions, and sick men, had to be carried 



70 LIFEOFAAEONBUEK. 

by main strcn2:tli, around rapids and foils, over high and pre- 
cipitous hills, across ^Yide marshes — mitil, after toil, under 
which a tenth of the army sank, and from which another tenth 
ran away, the boats were launched into the Dead river, whei*e 
a sudden flood dashed to pieces many of the boats, and de- 
stroyed one half of the provisions. Then, all the horrors of 
starvation threatened the devoted band. In a few days more, 
they were reduced to live upon dogs and reptiles; and, at 
length, to devour the leather of their shoes and cartridge- 
boxes, and any thmg, however loathsome, which contained 
the smallest nutriment. It was fit\y days after leaving New- 
buryport, before Arnold, Avith the loss of exactly half his 
force, saw the heights of Quebec. He had brought his gallant 
ai-my six hundred miles through a hideous wilderness. 

The student, bred in comparative luxiiry, who had come 
from a sick bed to encounter these fotigues and privations, 
bore them as Avell as any man of his party. During the first 
days in the wilderness, the weather was the most delightful of 
the Indian summer, and Burr, with his friends Ogden, Wil- 
kinson, Samuel Spring (chaplain to the corps), Dearborn, 
Ward, and others, sped along throtigh the woods, abreast of 
the boats, merrily enough. Before the rains set in, and the 
provisions ran low, he had more than regained his wonted 
vigor ; and in the trying time that succeeded, liis habit ac- 
quired in college, of livhig upon a very small quantity of food, 
stood him in good stead. His hardihood and quick helpful- 
ness attracted general admiration among the troops. His skill 
in the manasrenient of a boat was particularlv useful in shoot- 
ing the rapids, and he was often the helmsman of the boat in 
the van of his division. All his vigilance, however, did not 
save him, one bitterly cold day, fi-om a sad mishap. He was 
running some rapids in the Dead river, when he observed the 
men on sliore making violent gestures, but for Avhat purpose, 
neither he nor his crew could divine. In a few minutes the 
rapids became swit\er, and the boat was precipitated over a 
tall twenty feet high. One poor fellow was drowned, half the 
baggage was lost, and Burr himself reached the shore only 
with the greatest difticultv. In all wavs, on this terrible ex- 



THE VOLUNTEER. 11 

pedition, as his companions for fifty years afterward were at all 
times delighted to testify, he bore himself like a man, a sol- 
dier, and a true comrade. It was very hard to make any man 
Ihuik ill of Aai-on Burr who was with him then. 

Colonel Arnold, the commander of the expedition, gave him 
a proof of his confidence by intrusting him with a mission of 
great difiiculty. As the force approached Quebec, it became 
a matter of the first importance to communicate with General 
Montgomery at Montreal ; particularly as Arnold's diminished 
numbers might render it impossible for him to act against the 
place without the general's cooperation. To Burr was con- 
tided the task of conveying, alone, one hundred and twenty 
miles through an enemy's country, a verbal message from 
Arnold, informing Montgomery of his arrival, and of his 
plans. 

In performing this duty, the young soldier gave the first 
striking proof of his tact and address. Knowing that the 
French population had never become reconciled to British 
rule, and that the Catholic clergy especially abhorred it, he 
assumed the garb and bearing of a young priest, and went 
directly to a religious house near the camp, and sought an 
interview with its chief Burr's Latin was still fresh in his 
memory ; and as he luckily knew French enough to enable him 
to pronounce Latin in the French manner, he had little diffi- 
culty in conversing with the venerable priest, to whose presence 
he was conducted. A few minutes sufficed to show the young 
diplomatist that he hadvfound the man he had need of, and he 
at once frankly avowed his real character, and asked the aid of 
the clerical order in the prosecution of his journey. The priest 
gazed at the stripling with astonishment. He thought him a 
boy, and told him it was impossible for one of his tender years 
to perform a journey so long and so beset with danger. Find- 
ing that the purpose of the young gentleman was irrevocable, 
and that he was more of a man than his appearance betokened, 
he gave him a trusty guide, and one of the rude carriages of 
the country. From one religious family to another the guide 
conveyed him in perfect safety, and with such comfort as made 
the journey seem a holiday excursion compared with the recent 



72 LIFEOFAAEONBUKR. 

march througli the wilderness. Only once was his progress 
interrupted. At Three Ivivers the guide found the people 
excited by rumors of Arnold's arrival, and the authorities on 
the alert to prevent conuuunicalion between the two American 
commanders. The guide, aware that his neck was in danger, 
refused to proceed further, and urged Burr to lay by till the 
excitement had in some degree subsided. Concluding that to 
be the most prudent course, he was concealed for three days 
m the convent at Three Rivers ; at the expiration of which 
the guide was willing to go forward. They reached Mon- 
treal without further detention or alarm. Burr repaired at 
once to Montgomery's head-quarters, gave the information 
with which he Avas charged, and narrated bis adventures. 
That gallant and princely Irishman was so charmed with 
Burr's address and daring, that he requested him, on the spot, 
to accept a place on his staff. A few days after. Burr was 
formally announced as the general's aid-de-camp, with the 
rank of captain. 

It was now near the end of November, the ground was 
covered with snow, and the severe Canadian winter had set in 
with its usual rigor. But Montgomery, without a moment's 
hesitation, and with only the delay necessary for preparation, 
put himself at the head of a force of three hundred men, and 
marched, through a succession of blinding snow storms, to 
join ^Vinold's troops who were shivering under the heights of 
Quebec. Arnold had already made an attempt upon the city, 
and might have carried it and won undyi«g honors, and turned 
the course of revolutionary history, but for the treason of an 
Indian to whom he had given letters for General Schuyler, 
but who conveyed them and news of the expedition, to the 
British commandant ! 

Soon after INIontgomery's arrival, a council of war was held, 
at Avhich Burr and Ogden %vere both present, and it was de- 
termined to make an attempt to take the place by assault. To 
Captahi Burr, at his own request, was assigned the command 
of a forlorn hope of forty men, whom he forthwith selected, 
and began to drill. He caused ladders to be made, and exer- 
cised his men in using them, until, burdened with all their 



THBVOLUNTEEK. 73 

equipmcTits, they could movint the ladders with great agility 
in the darkest night. During those two weeks of preparation, 
he was all activity. His soul was in arms. Every night, when 
all but the sentinels slept, he was under those heights where so 
much glory has been won, familiarizing his eye with every 
feature of the scene, and weighing all the obstacles to the 
ascent. Upon the plan of assault originally proposed, parts of 
which Burr had himself suggested, and for the execution of 
which he had made his surveys and preparations, he felt con- 
fideht of success. But at a late day, that plan, for reasons not 
certainly known, was changed ; a circumstance to which Burr 
always attributed the disastrous failure of the assault. 

The attack, it was agreed at the council of war, should 
take place at night, and in a snow-storm. By the 20th of 
December the preparations were complete, and nightly the 
little army awaited the signal, and the sentinel watched the 
heavens for signs of the gathering storm. The weather was 
bitterly cold ; the small-pox was making fearful ravages among 
the troops; there was no hope of an alleviation to their suifer- 
ings but in capturing the fortress-crowned heights above 
them. The last night of the year 1Y75 had come, and a bril- 
liant moon, when the patriot army retired to rest, was flood- 
ing with light the fields of snow, the ice-batteries, the town, 
and the lofty citadel. No one expected to be aroused that 
night by the familiar signal. But, at midnight, the heavens 
became suddenly overcast, and a north-easterly snow-storm, of 
unusual violence, cam* driving over the scene. The general 
was roused. At a glance he saw that the hour had come, and 
gave the order for the troops to get imder arms. Burr as- 
sisted in communicating the order to the divisions, and soon 
had his storming-party in readiness to move. By personal in- 
spection, by the touch of his own hand, he assui'cd himself 
that the men under his immediate direction were equipped as 
he had determined they should be on the decisive night. By 
two o'clock the men had been carefully inspected, and were 
ready to march to the points whence they were to assault the 
town. About nine hundred men answered to their names 
that morning They were divided into four parties, only two 

4 



74 LIFKOFAARONBURR. 

of which were designed to fight ; the others Avere to distract 
the garrison by feints at places remote froni the scene of se- 
rions attack. One of the tigting-]>arties was led by Arnold ; 
the other, in spite of the renionst ranees of Burr and others ot 
the general's family, was commanded by Montgomery, whose 
towering form appeared at the head of the column. At four 
o'clock, the divisions had reached their designated posts. At 
five the signal of attack was given, and the chilled soldiers, 
impatient to move, began the ascent through the snow-dritls, 
and in tlie teeth of the storm. 

Captain Inirr inarched side by side with his geneVal at the 
head of the division, as it hm'ried along the St, Lawrence to 
the defenses under Cape Diamond. These were well known 
to the vigilant aid-de-eamp. First, the attacking party camo 
upon a row of pickets, which the general, with his own hands, 
assisted to cut away. Pushing on through the snow and 
darkness, they reached, a few paces beyond, a second row of 
pickets, behind which was a square, two-story block-house, 
loop-holed above for musketry, and ]nerced below for two 
twelve-})onnders, which, charged with grape, commanded the 
narrow gorge up which an enemy must advance. It was not 
till the Americans had begun to remove the second row of 
pickets, that the British guard became aware of the presence 
of an enemy. Delivering one inolfectual tire, they tied to the 
block-house, and communicating their terror to the party 
within, who were mostly sailors and militia, the whole body 
■fled without once discharging the cannon. But their panic, 
imfortunately, was not perceived by the Americans, and a de- 
lay, short but fatal, occurred, Masses of ice, letl on the Avin- 
ter subsidence of the river, obstructed the ascent, and several 
minutes elapsed before a sutlicient number of mon could clam- 
ber over these and form within the second picket to attack 
the block-house. In smoothing the pathway, the general him- 
self tugged at the great blocks of ice with furious energy. At 
length, two hundred men were formed in column. The gen- 
eral was at its head, as before. Burr was at his side. Two 
other aids, an orderly sergeant, :\nd a French guide, coin- 
oleted the group in advance, " Push on, brave boys, Quebec 



TUEVOLUNTKER. 76 

is ours," cried Montgomery, as tlie column began to move up 
the ascent. On they marched to within fort}*i)aces of the 
bloclc-house. At that moment, a sailor who had lied from his 
post, surprised that the Americans did not advance, ventured 
back to discover the reason. Through one of the port-holes 
of the block-house he saw the advancing party, and turned to 
run away again ; but, as he turned, he performed an act which 
decided the fortunes of the day, and gave Canada back again 
to Britain. lie touched olf one of those grape-charged can- 
non. 

Forward fell the majestic form of Montgomery, never to 
rise again. Down went two of his aids, mortally wounded. 
The orderly sergeant, too, never saw daylight again. Every 
man that marched in front of the column, except Captain IJurr 
and the guide, were struck down to death by the discharge of 
that twelve-pounder. The day was just dawning, and the sol- 
diers were soon aware of the whole extent of the catastrophe. 
The column halted and wavered. The command fell into 
incompetent hands. Priceless minutes were lost in those con 
siiltations by which cowardice loves to hide its trepidation. 
At that critical time, when all but the staunchest hearts gave 
way, Burr was as cool, as determined, as eager to go for- 
ward, as at the most exultant moment of the advance. He 
was vehement, almost to tlie point of nuitiny, in urging a re- 
newal of the attack. " When dismay and consternation uni- 
versally prevailed," testifies Captain Richard Piatt, who com- 
manded a New York company, among the most advanced in 
the column of attack, "liurr animated tlie troops, and made 
inany etlbrts to lead them on, and stimulated them to enter 
the lower town ; and might have succeeded, but for the posi- 
tive order of the commanding ofiicer for the troops to retreat." 
There was small need of order to that efiect. The enemy re- 
turned to the block-house, and opened fire on the assailants. 
The retreat soon became a precipitate and disorderly fliglit. 

It was then that our young aid-de-camp made a noble 
display of courage and fidelity ; improving the oi)portunity 
which the brave know how to snatch from the teeth of disas- 
ter. Tiiere lay the body of his general in its snowy sliroud. 



?6 LIFKOFAAKONBURR. 

Pow!i the steep, over the blocks of ice and tlrifts of snow, and 
aloMj;- the rivor^s l>;vnk, liis oomriulos were tlyinji; in diss>r;iceful 
pauio. From tho block-luniso, the enemy were begii\niiii;- to 
issue in pursuit. The tkitlitul aid, a boy in stature, exerting all 
his strength, litltnl tho general's superbly-proportioned body 
upon his shoulders, and ran with it down the gorge, np to his 
knees in snow, the enemy only forty paces behind l»in». Burr's 
gallantry on this occasion, too, had a witness. Samuel 8})ring, 
his college tViend, the chaplain to the expeditionary force, was 
near the head of the assaulting column on this eventful morn- 
ing, and was one of the last to leave tho scene of action. It 
was his friendly eyes that saw " little Burr," in the snowy dim- 
ness of the dawn, hurrying away before the enemy, and stag- 
gering under his glorious load. The chances of war separated 
those two friends there and then. From that ho\n', for fitly 
years, the reverend chaplain never saw the face of Aaron Burr. 
But tlu> picture was indelibly imprinted upon his memory, and 
l\e loved the lad for it while his heart beat ; and he »\)«/(? testify 
his love, atter that lapse of time, when it requireil some man- 
liness in a clergyman even to accost Aaron Burr, and when 
Spring's own son, more worldly wise, besought the old clergy- 
man not to see the man who had " lout caste /" But to con- 
clude the adventure. "Little Burr" could not long sustain the 
burvlen. He reeled along with it till the enemv were close 
behind him ; when, to avoid capture, he was compelled to 
drop the body in the snow again, and hasten after the tlying 
troops, 

Bur)-*s behavior on this decisive day won him great distinc- 
tion, and laid the foundation of his fortune. His praises were 
warmly repeated among the troops, with whom he had before 
been a favorite. His extreme voulh, his singular coolness and 
tact, the ecU\t attached to his position as a gentleman volun- 
teer, his quick intelligence and courteous manner's all conspired 
to win the regard of those rustic soldiers. Fourteen days, 
alter the assault, the news of its failure reached the lower 
provinces of New England and struck dismay to the heart of 
tho most hopeful. But the brilliant deeds of valor which had 
marked the whole course of the expedition were a consolation 



I' II 10 V (> 1. U N T 10 10 II. 



77 



to iho stnii^^TiiiL:: psit riots, who lislciictl witli jjjrccdy t'nrs fo 
tlu^ wondrous sloi)' ; nnd while (hr hi'MiMouLC cournno iiiid in- 
«lomil!il>h' |><>is('vrr;nic(^ of Ariiohl, \\\o r.luv:drir. <;Mll!inlry 
of Moi\(iS»;oiiin V, tlif drs|icr:ili< hiaxt'iy of Morj^nii, mH h;id 
(lu'ir (hie ol" |ir.iis(' :md reward, I lie roiimiitiy ox|)h)ils ol' iho 
boy aid-do-cam |) wlio hori» liis !;i'iu'ial's body IVom I he enemy's 
;Hr(> wen> not lbi!;(itlen. O^den, soon nlVer tlu> ai'tion, went, 
home witii dispatches, and tohl his iViends, tohl (\)n;;ress, tohl 
(Jeherul Wiishini^ton, oi""littU> IJiin's" bravery; and back lo 
(.^>ieb(Mi eani(« a budf^t^t ol' ooni^ralulalorv h-tlcrs. It. is pheas- 
ant to see liinv j^lad and proud Hun's yonnt;' IViends wem t.liat. 
Iii> had won <lis|inetion. His sister, wlio liad passi'd many 
weeks of aniMiizini;' suspens<' without any iu>ws of him wlial- 
ever, heai'iny' now, at (uiec, of his salely and liis j;'h)ry, was in 
OOHtatMes ol" priih- and deli<;lit. 

The* Anu'iiean Ibrei'S remained al)out (Jiu-bec^ till tlie sprint::, 
inmoyinj:; llu' j^arrison as best. tht>y «'ould, and not. witlioni, 
hojue ol" slarvinj;' it into a surrenih'r. Arnold, wl>o had l>een 
wounded in tl>e assault, was ayain (he oIVkmt in command, an<l 
appointed r.uir to the post ol' bri^'ado-nnijor. Ibui', howevei', 
>vas not. an admirei- of lh(> tuibuh>nt and darinj'; apothecary. 
Arnold had an absurd idea ol'tauntiuL; and di^ryinL!; tlie enemy 
by parading- tlu> troops in si^ht of the fortress, juid l)y sendiui;- 
lettiM's (b'mandiui^; its surrender, praetie(>s most re|uiijiiant to 
the praetieal mind ot" Ibor. .\ h'l ler )>l' this description Ar- 
nold desired IMajoi' Jbirr to eon\ev to the Ibilish eonnnandtM". 
He demanded to know its contonts, and upon Ainold's object- 
ing, otVered to r»»sion his post, but rel'ust>d, point-blank, to CM'- 
ry a letter ot' which he km>w in>l the purport. Arnold then 
vshowt"d him the leller, which dciuanded a surrendei' ot'the 
fortress, and was couched in what Ibirr deemed most arroijant 
and insulting' laiii^iiau'c. He mill declined to be tlie beari<r 
of such a missi\ I', and predicted that whoever should d(>liver 
it would jueet oidy with (iont(>mpt and division. Arnold sent 
it. by another titVuH'r, who was tr<<ated precisoly as Hurr had 
ai\tica|)ated. 

In the spring-, the Americans had to retreat bi'fore the iu>w 
army undi>r l>m-<;oyne. They rt>mained a short time at IMont- 



78 LIPK OF AAKON U V K K . 



real, \vl\oro Burr's vlisliko to Arnolil inorojissod to such a ilo- 
groo that lio detoruiinod to lo;ivo him aiul sook more active 
servioo noaror homo. Kvoii on the maroh throuijh the wiUlor- 
nesis, ho thought Arnold had not shared tlio privations of the 
troops as he ought ; and now, when the resources of a town 
were at his eomnuind, Burr was thorouglily disgusted with the 
general's all-exaeiing meanness. ^'' Arnold," Burr used to say, 
** is a perteet madman in the exeitements of battle, and is ready 
for any deeds of valor ; but he has not a particle of moral 
counigo. lie is \itterh- ujiprincipled, and has no love of coun- 
try or self-respect to guide him. lie is not to be trusted any- 
where l>\it under the eye of a superior." 

(.">n reaching the river Sorel, Major Burr informed Arnold 
of his determination to leave. Arnold, not in the best humor, 
obiectod. AVith the utmost suavitv of manner. Burr said. 

** Sir, I have a boat in readiness ; 1 have employed four dis- 
charged soldiei"S to ivw tne, and 1 start fron\ such a point 
(naming it) at six o'clock tiMuorrow n\orning." 

AV hereupon Arnold smgrily t'orbade his departure, and Burr, 
in the blandest tone, reiterated his determination. In the 
morning, as the yovmg soldier was about to step into his boat, 
he s,aw ArnoUi aj^proaching. 

"AVhv, Major Burr, vou are not going?" said he. 

" 1 am, sir," was the reply, 

*' But," s,aid Arnold, " you know it is ag-;\inst my onlers," 

"1 know," rejoined Buit, "that you have the /><.>i(vr to 
Slop nu\ but nothing short of force shall do it.'' 

I'pon this, Arnold changed his tone, and tried to persuade his 
etViciem brig-:»dt^major to ren\ain. In a few miinites. Burr 
stepped into his boat, wislied the genei":^! good-by and g\>od 
tortune, and was i\>wevl away without hindei^anoe. As a voitot- 
te^ty who had remained with the corjvs as long as there was 
dangvr to be faced or tntigue to be andergone. Burr. disci|>- 
liuarian as he was, felt that he had a riglit to leave. Arnold's 
unwillingness to let him g\^ aivse fixMU the tact that a compe- 
tent brig:^de-maior relieves a general tWni all the details of 
oon^maiui ; as much so as a gvod n\ate the captain of a ship. 
To a man of Arnold's self ituiulgent habits, .an otlicer like 



THE VOLUNTEER. 



79 



Burr, of sleepless vigilance, and of activity that nothing 
could tire, was a most important acquisition. 

On the Sorel, an incident occurred which frightened Burr's 
oarsmen, and still nu)ro a yomig trader with whom he shared 
the boat. As the boat rounded :i point, there suddenly camo 
into view a large brick house, with loopholes for the discharge 
of musketry, and an Indian warrior, in full costume, stand- 
ing at the door. The crew were for instant retreat, but Burr 
seeing that they were already far within rille-shot, ordered 
thenUo go on. At this, the passenger, in a rage of terror, at- 
tempte.l to prevent the soldiers from rowing; but Burr, draw- 
ing a pistol, declared ho \vould shoot him if ho interfered, and 
directed the men to row straight toward the portentous edifice. 
" I will go up to the house," he added, " and wo shall soon 
learn who they are." 

Jiefore the boat reached the land, the Indians camo swarm- 
ing from tlie house, and presented an appearance as alarming 
as picturesque. Burr sprang ashore, Avalked toward them, 
and soon had the i)leasure of learning that they were i)eace- 
fully disposed. In a few minutes he caused to be brought on 
shore a keg of whisky, which put the liuliaus into the high- 
est gooil hunu)r, and they parted excellent friends. 

On reaching Albany, 15urr learned that his services in 
Canada had greatly pleased the conunander-in-chief. Upon 
Ogden's visitto Philadelphia with dispatches, lie had been in- 
formed by Mr. Ueed that there was a vacancy on the stall* of 
General Washington, to which he should be glad to recom- 
mend him. Ogden replied, that he preferred more active ser- 
vice, and proceeded to use all his eloquence and interest in 
procurhig the staiV ai>pointment for his friend Burr. To Gen- 
eral Washington himself he extolled Burr's gallantry and 
talent with all the warmth of the most devoted friendship, 
and ho Boon had the delight of conveying to his friend a mes 
sago from the general. 

"General Washington," he wrote, "desires mo to inform 
you that he will provide for you, and that he exi)ects you will 
come to him immediately, and stay in his family. You will 



80 LIFE OF AARON BUKR. 

uow want your hoi'so," nddcd Ogden ; " I have sold liiiu, and 
spent the money,'' etc. 

The k^ter, of >vhich this is a part, passed Burr on his way 
to New York ; it was tVon\ other friends that he first heard of 
General Washington's invitation. So long a period had elapsed 
since he had heard from Ogden, that he began to think that, 
gentleman must have forgotten, amid thenniltitude of his new 
friends, the companion, the brother, of his youth. And while' 
Oiidcn was exultiuir at the success of his friendlv endeavors. 
Burr was lamenting his apparent faithlessju^ss and neglect. 
lie wrote him a letter, upbraiding him u\ terms amusing for 
their vounsiMn.anish severitv and Iot\iness. He dealt Jxonnifilt/ 
with him, 

"There is in ;»</»," said Burr, "a certain love of novelty; 
a fondness of variety (usetul within proper limits), wliich in- 
thiences more or less in almost every act of life. Xew views, 
new laws, new jf^'kmh^ have each their charm. Truly great 
must be the soul, and tirm almost beyond the weakness of 
hmn.anity, that can withstand the smiles of fortune. Success^ 
promotion, the caresses o( the great, and the tlatteries of the 
low, are sometimes tatal to the noblest minds. The volatile 
become an ejisy prey. The tickle heart, tiptoe with joy, as 
from an eminence, views with contempt its former joys, con- 
nections, :ind pursuits. A new ta^ste contracted, seeks com- 
panions suited to itself But pleasures easiest tasted, though 
perhaps at tirst of higher glee, are soonest past, and, the more 
they are relied upon, leave the severer sting behind. One 
cloudy day despoils the glow-worm of all its glitter. Should 
fortune ever frown upon you, ^Matt. : should those you now 
ca.ll friends forsake you ; should the clouds gather force on 
every side, and threaten to burst upon you, think then upon 
the man who never bctraved vou ; relv on the sinceritv vou 
never found to t^iil ; and if my heai-t^ my life, and my fortune 
can assist you, it is youi-s." 

I'pon the receipt of Ogden's letter. Burr s;\w his error, 
.•jud all was well again between the two friends. Ogden, in- 
deed, loved Aaron Burr with an unusual atVectiou. In the 
very letter which told Burr of Gener:il Washington's ilivor. 



THE TOLUNTEER, 81 

Ogden mentioned that he had recently gone out of his way 
in the hope of meeting him, and declared that his failure 
to do so was the greatest disappointment he had ever experi- 
enced. 

In May, 1776, Major Burr i-eported himself in New York 
to General "Washington, Avho at once invited him to reside in 
his family until a suitable appointment could be procured for 
him. The commander-in-chief was residing at Richmond Hill, 
then about two miles from the city, on the banks of the Hud- 
son, in a mansion which was afterward Burr's own country 
seat. It was a delightful abode, say the old chroniclers ; the 
grounds extending down to the river, and the neighborhood 
adorned with groves, gardens, ponds, and villas.* 

Burr, with alacrity, accepted General Washington's invita- 
tion, and went immediately to reside at head-quarters. For 
about six weeks, he sat at the general's table, occasionally 
rode out with him, and performed some of the duties of aid- 
de-camp. Long before the expiration of even that short 
period, he became so disgusted with his situation, that in one 
of his letters to Governor Hancock, his own and his father's 
friend, he talked seriously of retiring from the service. Han- 
cock dissuaded hiui, and offered to procure him the appoint- 
ment of aid to General Putnam, then quartered in the 
city. Burr consented, and in July took up his abode with 
Putnam at the corner of Broadway and the Battery, where 
alsp Mrs. Putnam lived and kept her daughters busy spinning 
flax to help supply the soldiers with shirts. In this homely, 
noble scene. Burr was perfectly contented ; and as aid to the 
general employed in fortifying the city, he found the active 
employment he had desired. "My good old general," he 
was wont to style the soft-hearted, tough, indomitable wolf- 
kiUcr. 

Of the minor events of Burr's life, none contributed more 

* The site of the old mansion. is now the comer of Charlton and Yarick 
streets. Twenty years ago, a part of the house was still standing, and served 
as a low drinking shop. The vicinity, so enchanting in Burr's day, presents 
at this time a dreary scene of shabby uugcntility, as passengers by the Sixth 
A. venue cars have an opportunity of observing. 



S2 H F E O F A A K O X B U K K . 

to the odium which tiually gathorod round his name than 
Uu$ abrupt departure tV^m tlie family of General Washington. 
It often happens, in the case of men respecting whom tlie 
pubUc verdict is, uj>on the whole, not unjust, that many of the 
specijications in the charge against them are untbuuded. Good 
men, too, are praised for more virtues than they possess. Xow, 
aotiiing could have been more natural, or more proper, than 
Burr's discontent as a member of Washington's tamily. The 
nature of the duties that devolved upon the general's aides dur- 
ing the whole of the war, is well known. Washington, with the 
affaii'S of a continent upon his shoulders, was burdened with a 
prodigious correspondence. The enemy was the ha^t of his per- 
plexities. In manaiiinix and advisiuir Congress, in getting the 
army organized, in stirring up the zeal of the governors and 
legislatures of the States, in reconciling the perpetual disputes 
about i^ank, his tin\e and mind weiv chietly employed. His 
aides, no less than his secretary, were often contined to the 
desk more hours a day than bank clerks. Buit was the most 
active of human being-s. He had just come from an expedi- 
tion which had tasked all his powei-s, and given hira the taste 
of glory. He was in the midst of a scene calculated to arouse 
the most sluggish. Stateu Island was dotted all over with the 
tents of the enemv, and the bav was whitened with the sails 
of the most imposing fleet these shores had ever beheld. The 
patriot force was straining every nerve to prepare the city for 
the expected landing of the enemy. Ogden, now lieutennnt- 
colonel, with his regiment of Jerseymen, was in active service, 
and told Burr he was iroing to do honor to their native State. 
The townspeople were in dreadtul alarm. When the British 
saluteil an arriving ship, or when a sloop ran past Geuei-al 
Putnam's batteiies, cannonading as she went, women and 
children, as Washington himself records, ran shrieking into 
the streets, in terror of a lK>mbardment. Everywhere were 
seen the sights, and heaxd the sounds, that appal the citizen 
and animate the soldier. It was in such circumstances, that 
Bvur, the electric Burr, the born soldier, the most irrepressi- 
ble of moT-tals, foxrnd himself sinking into the condition of a 
tiierkf The situation was intolerable to him; as it was, after- 



T II E V O L U N T K E U . fe3 

ward, to Ilaniilton,* who liked tho post of General Washing- 
ton's aid little better than Burr did. 

Hamilton, however, learned, as ho grew older,^ to value 
correctly the character of the connnander-in-chicf, and tho 
imnieasurablo services which his caution and perseverance had 
rendered to his country and to man. ]>urr never did. The 
l)rcjudices against the general, imbibed during his short resi- 
dence with him at Richmond llill, were strengthened by sub- 
sequent events into a settled dislike, which he carried with 
liim through life. lie thought George Washington was a bad 
general, and an honest, weak man. He said he knew nothing 

* lliunillon, in a, loU.or to nfflionil Rchuylor, dated February 18Ui, 1781, 
gives the t'oUuwing account of liia break with tJoiioral Washiugton ; " Two 
days ago, tlio goiioral and I passed each oUior on the stairs ; ho told mo ho 
wanted to speak witli ino; I ausworod that T would v;ait upon him immodi- 
atol. I went below and delivered Mr. Tilghman a letter to bo sent to tho 
counuissary, oontaiuing an order of a pressing and interesting nature. Re- 
turning to the general, T was stopped ou tho way by tho Marqui.s do la Pay- 
otto, and wo conversed together, about a minute, on a matter of business. 
lie can testily how impatient T was to got back, and that I left him in a man- 
ner which, but for our intimacy, would havo boon more than abrupt. In- 
stead of finding tho general, as is usual, in his room, [ met him at tho head 
ol" tho stairs, where, accosting me in an angry voieo, ' Colonel Hamilton,' 
said he, 'you have kept mo waiting at tho head of the stairs these ten miu- 
uli>H ; T must tell you, sir, you treat mo with disrespect.' I replied, witliout 
pelulaiiey, but witli decision, ' lam not conscious of it, sir, but sinco you havo 
thought it necessary to tell mo so, wo part.' ' Very well, sir,' said he, ' if it 
be your choice,' or somelhiug to that clfect, and wo separated. I sincerely 
believe my absence, whicli gave so mucli umbrage, did not last two minutes. 
In less than an hour alter, Mr. Tilghman came to me, in tho general's name, 
assuring mo of his coniiilenee in my ability, integrity, usefulness, etc., and of 
his desire, in a candiil conversation, to heal a dilVoronce which could not havo 
happened but in a moment of passion. I requested Mr. Tilghman to tell him, 
lirst, that I had taken my resolution in a maimer not to be revoked," etc, etc. 
Hamilton proceeds t<) say tiiat lie .had k)ng been discontented with the 
s.tuation of aid, and had previously dotorminod tliat if ho ever did havo a 
ditfcrenco with General Wasliington, it should bo linal. Ho tlien adds: 
"The genaral is a very honest -man; his competilors have slender abilities 
and loss integrity. His iwpularity has often been essential to the safety of 
America, and is still of great importance to it. These considerations havo 
Inlluonced my past conduct respecting him, and will inllueneo my future : 1 
think it necessary ho should be supported." 



84 LIFEOFAAROXBrRR. 

of scientific warfore, and could therefore give no instruction 
of any value to a young soldier burning to excel in his profes- 
sion. He thought the general was as fond of adulation as he 
was known to be sensitive to censure, and that no officer 
could stand well with him who did not play the part of his 
worshiper, lie could not bear near his person, said Burr, a 
man of an independent habit of mind. Washington's want 
of book-culture, too, would naturally surprise a youth who 
was born and reared amid books, and who was, to the last, an 
eager reader. In a word, Burr saw in this wise, illustrious 
man, only the thrit^y planter, and the country gentleman ; a 
good soldier enough in Indian wartare, but quite at fault in 
the presence of a civilized enemy. 

The general, on bis part, seems to have conceived an ill im- 
pression of Burr, but not the serious distrust of at\er years, 
when Burr was his political opponent. Burr always asserted 
that it was not an amour, nor any thing of that nature, but 
his mdependent manner of enforcing opinions, to which time 
added the stiug of proved correctness, that made General 
W^ashhigton his enemy. Burr, for example, was one of a 
considerable number of officers who thouglit that Xew York 
could not be held, and that to burn and abandon it was the 
best way to frustrate the British commander. No doubt the 
old young-man expressed this opinion with a confidence to 
which his age and his dimensions gave him no apparent title. 
But, at twenty, " little Burr" had been a man for some years ; 
at least in confidence in his own abilities. 

In one word, there was an antipathy between the two men , 
each lacking qualities which the other highly prized ; each 
possessing virtues which by the other were not admired. 



CHAPTER VI. 

AID-DE-CAMP TO GENERAL PUTNAM. 

TueEetreat from Long Island -Bukk saves a Brigade -His affair with Miss 
MoNCRiEFFE — Her Narrative. 

It was the fortune of Major Burr, while serving as aid to 
General Putnam, to save a frightened brigade, and to win a 
virgin heart. 

i3uring the disastrous days upon Long Island which pre- 
ceded the laraous retreat of the American army, Genera,l Put- 
nam was in command, and his aid-de-camp was in the thick of 
events. To reach the scene of action, and to begin an accu- 
rate survey of it, Avere simultaneous occurrences with that 
intelligent young soldier. He rode about the American camp, 
and vfsited every post and out-post. He informed himself of 
the positions and strength of the enemy. He discovered that 
the American troops had as yet no idea of standing against 
the British in open fight ; that Bunker Hill was still their ideal 
of a battle, and breast-works their only reliance. His report 
to the general was unfavorable in the extreme, and he was 
more decided than ever in the opinion that General Washing- 
ton's true plan was, by retreating from the coast, to draw the 
British army away from their shii)s, which were an immense 
support to them, both morally and otherwise. He was utterly 
opposed to a genei-al action, for the reason that a large pro- 
portion of the new troops, he was certain, would not stand 
more than one volley. When the American army crossed the 
East river, in the presence of the enemy, he was engaged 
during the Avhole night on the Brooklyn side, where his cool- 
ness aiid activity made a lasting impression upon the mind of 
General McDougal, who superintended the embarkation. In 
l:!t,'r e:unpaigns,^Burr served under that general, who showed 



86 LIFEOFAARONBURE. 

how he valued Burr's soldierly qualities by the use he made 
of them. 

But it was on that eventful Sunday, September the 15th, 
1776, when the British landed on Manhattan island, and the 
American army fled before them to Harlem, that Major Burr 
most distinguished himself He was in the rear of the retreat- 
uig troops ; as was also Captain Alexander Hamilton, with his 
company of New York artillery. Hamilton lost all his bag- 
gage and one gun that afternoon, but conducted his men gal- 
lantly and safely away. As Major Burr, with two horsemen, 
was riding toward Richmond Hill, on his way to Harlem, he 
came upon a small sod-fort, called Bunker's Hill, nearly on the 
line of what is now Grand-street. To his astonishment he 
found that a great part of an American brigade, left in the 
city by one of the numberless mistakes inevitable on such a 
day, had taken refuge in this structure. 

The British, it must be remembered, landed on the East 
river side of the island, nearly four miles above the Battery, 
with the intention to cut off the retreat of the Americans, and 
General Knox, who commanded this brigade, supposed that 
the enemy were already masters of the island, and that escape 
by flight was impossible. Major Burr rode up to the fort and 
asked who commanded there. General Knox presenting him- 
self. Burr inquired what he was doing there^ and why he did 
not retreat. The general replied that the enemy were already 
across the island, and that he meant to defend the fort. Burr 
ridiculed the idea of defending a place which was not bomb- 
proof, and which contained neither water nor provisions. With 
one howitzer, he exclaimed, the enemy will knock it to pieces 
in four hours. He maintained that there was no chance but 
retreat, and urged the general to lead out his men. Knox 
declared it would be madness to attempt it, and refused to 
stir. While this debate was waxing warm, the oflicers of the 
brigade gathered round, eager to hear what was said. To 
them Burr addressed himself with the vehemence demanded 
by the occasion. He told them that if they remained where 
they were they would all be prisoners before night, or hung 
.ike dogs. He said it was better for half the corps to fall 



AID-DE-CAMP TO G K N E Jl A L PUTNAM. 87 

fighting its way tli rough the enemy's lines, than for all to be 
talc^n and rot in a dungeon. He added that he knew the 
roads of the island perfectly, and would lead them safely to 
the main body of the army, if they would place themselves 
under his direction. The men agreed to follow him, and they 
marched out, Burr riding in advance, on the side where an 
attack was to be feared, and returning at intervals to reassure 
the terrified troops. When they had gone two miles on their 
Avay, firing was suddenly heard at the right. Shouting to his 
men to follow him. Burr galloped directly to the spot whence 
the firing had issued, and soon discovered that it was a small 
advance-guard of the enemy, consisting of a single company, 
who, on seeing the Americans, fired and fled. Burr and his 
two horsemen rode furiously after them, and killed several of 
the fugitives. Galloping back, he found the troops had taken 
a wrong road, and were in sore trepidation, lie guided them 
now through a wood, riding from front to rear, and from rear 
to front, encouraging them by his words, and still more by his 
cool, intrepid demeanor. With the loss of a few stragglers, 
for the march was of the swiftest, he led the brigade to the 
main body. He was ever after regarded by those troops as 
their deliverer from British prison-ships. 

This brilliant feat of the young aid-de-camp became the talk 
of the army. Soon after, on the surrender of Fort Washing- 
ton, another brigade was, by a similar accident, left behind ; 
and of 2600 men that fell hito the hands of the enemy, not 
500 survived the treatment they received as prisoners. Ap- 
plauded by his comrades. Burr was not mentioned in the dis- 
patches of the commander-in-chief; which, then and always, 
he regarded as an intentional slight. 

For a short period after the retreat, he was comparatively 
at leisure. Among his letters, there is Qjie wi-itten at this 
time from Kingsbridge to Mrs. Timothy Edwards, the aunt 
who had been to him all of a mother that any but a mother 
can be td a child. She had written to him in great alarm, on 
hearing of the abandonment of New York. His reply, so 
modest, so tenderly respectful, so sensible, would alone make 
it difficult to believe that at this time Aaron Burr was a bad 



88 LIFE OF AARON BURR. 

man, whatever he may afterward have become. He tells hia 
aunt it had always been a thing conceded, that the se?P-p»rts 
of America were at the discretion of the tyrant of Great Brit- 
ain ; and that it was a great gain for the Ainerican army to be 
in a position where, to attack them, the British must leave the 
immediate support of their ships. Besides, the loss of the 
city was rousing the country from lethargy ; more eftectual 
measures than ever were in contemplation to increase the 
army ; and a committee of Congress was then in camp to 
concert those measures with the commander-in-chief. " I do 
not intend by this, my dear aunt," he continues, " to deceive 
you into an opinion that every thing is already entirely 
secure ;" but " 1 hope, madam, yoii will continue, with your 
usual philosophy and resolution, prepared for the uncertain 
events of war, not anticipating improbable calamities." And 
as to the horrible stories in circulation about the barbarities of 
the Hessians, " most of them are incredible and false ; they are 
fonder of plunder than blood, and are more the engines than 
the authors of cruelty." And so he proceeds to calm the 
ap})rehensions of the good lady, writing her a letter which 
she would be proud to hand round the village, and which 
would encourage and stimulate the friends of the cause. His 
own exploits during the late battles and retreats he does not 
allude to. 

At Kingsbridge, about the date of this letter, Burr was en- 
gaged in an adventure little in harmony with the warlike 
scenes around him. 

The breaking out of the revolutionary war found a number 
of British otKcers domesticated among the colonists, and con- 
nected with them bv marriage. In New York and the other 
garrisoned towns, otKcers of the army led society, as military 
men still do in every garrisoned town in the world. "When 
hostilities began, and every man was ordered to his post, some 
of these officers left their families residing among the people ; 
and it happened, in a icw instances, that the events of war 
carried a father far away from his wife and children, never 
to rejoin them. The future Scott of America will know 
how to make all this very flimiliar to the American people 



I 



AID-DE-CAMP TO GENERAL PUTNAM. 89 

by the romantic and pathetic fictions which it will suggest 
to him. 

Margaret Moncriefte, a girl of fourteen, but a woman in de- 
velopment and appetite, witty, vivacious, piquant and beauti- 
ful, had been left at Elizabethtown, in New Jersey, by her 
father. Major Moncriefte, who was then Avith his regiment on 
Staten Island, and of course cut oft" from, communication with 
his daughter. Destitute of resources, and anxious to rejoin 
her father, she wrote to General Putnam for his advice and 
assistance. General Putnam received her letter in New York 
about the time that JMajor Burr joined him, and his reply was 
prepared for his signature by the hand of his new aid-de-camp. 
The good old general declared in this letter that he was her 
ikther's enemy, indeed, as an ofticer, but as a man, his friend, 
and ready to do any good ofiice for him or his. He invited 
her to come and reside in his family \intil arrangements could 
be made for sending her to Staten Island. She consented, an 
ofiicer was sent to conduct her to the city, and she was at 
once established in General Putnam's house. There she met, 
and became intimate with Major Burr. 

What followed from their intimacy has been stated variously 
by those who have written of it. Mr. Davis ,more than in- 
sinuates, nay, ftiore than asserts, that Miss Moncriefte was 
seduced by Bun*, and that to him is to be attributed her sub- 
sequent career of sorrow and shame. In sxipport of this accu- 
sation, he quotes from her autobiography, published after she 
had been the mistress of half a dozen of the notables of Lon- 
don, certain passages which, taken by themselves, do certainly 
corroborate the charge. Great indeed Avas my astonishment 
on recurring to the Avork itself (Memoirs of Mrs. Coghlan) to 
find that her narrative, read in connection, not only affords no 
support to Mr. Davis's insinuations, but explicitly, and tAvice, 
contradicts them. As a reply to Mr. Davis's garbled extracts, 
here folloAVS the entire passage relating to her connection with 
the Amencan army. It is known and conceded that the young 
ofiicer AA'hom she extols in such passionate language, and Avhom 
she miscalls 'colonel,' was Major Burr. Thus writes Mrs. 
Coghlan, nee Moncriefte : 



90 Ll P K O V' A .V K O N i: I K IJ . 

*' Wlion 1 anivod in l>i\>:ul\v;iy (;v si root so calloil), wlioro 
Oonoval Putnnin rosiilod, I was voooivoil with s>ro:it toiulor- 
lioss, ho\\\ by Mrs. rii(n:im niul lior ihuiu'luors, aiul on thi^ tol- 
lowiiiL:- day 1 was iutroihuHHl by tlu-m to tJouoi-al and Mrs. 
Wasliin^ioti, who hkowiso n\adv> it tlioir study to show mo 
o\ ory mark ol"ro>iard; but 1 soKKmv was nhowod to ho ahmo, 
aUhouu;h somotimi*, indood, 1 t'ound au ojiport unity to osoapo 
to tlio gallory on iho {o\> ot'tho houso, whoro my ohiot* doHjiht 
was to \ iow, willi a tolosoopo. our \\co[ and arniy oi\ Stutou 
Island. My amusomonts woro tow ; tho good iMrs. Tutnam 
om[>K>yod mo and l»or dauuhtors oi^istantly to spin tla\ tor 
sliirts I'or tho .Vmorioan sohliors ; indohMioo, in Anrorioa, boius;" 
totally disoourai^oil ; and I likowiso workod tor (uMioral Tut- 
nam, who, though not an aoooniplishod nnt^nnh'n^ liko «>ur 
dillotantis of St. .lamo.s's-stroot, was oorlainly ono of tho host 
oharaotors in tho world ; his hoart boing oompiisoil of thoso 
noblo matorials which equally oouuuauvl rospool ami adiuira- 
tion. 

'' Ono day, atUn- dinnor, tho (\)/*//ms\N' was tho toast ; (.lOutM-al 
Washiugtim viowod mo vory attontivoly, and saroastioally 
sail!, 'Miss .MonoriotVo, you don't drink your wino.' Embar- 
rassod by this roproot', I know not how to aoi : at last, as if by 
ft soorot iuipulso, 1 addrossod myself to tho ' Amorioan Com- 
mander,' auvl taking tho w iuo, I said, ' (.Jouoral Uowois tho 
toast.' \'e\od at my tomority, tho whole oompany, espeeially 
(loneral Washington, eonsured mo; when my good tViond, 
li0JUM-al Tutnani, as usual, apologi/.od, and assured them 1 did 
not moan to otVond. ' Uosldos,' replied he, 'every thitig said 
or done by suoh a ehild ought ratluu- to amuso than atVront 
you.' (.General Washington, piqued at this observation, thou 
«aid, 'Well, miss. 1 will overlook your iudiseretion, on con- 
dition that you drink my health, or (.general Putnam's, thetirst 
tinuMOU dine at Sir William Howe's table, on the other side 
ot" tho water.' 

"These words eouvoyed to mo a tlattering ]u>po that T 
should onoe more see my tather, and 1 promised (lonoral Wash- 
ington to do any thing whioh ho desired, jn-oviilod he would 
permit nie to return to him. 



A I O-DE-CAMP TO O E N E li A /. PUTNAM. 91 

"Not long afU^r thin circurriHtarico, a flag of Iruco arrivod 
from Stuton J.slarid, with letters from Major MoncrioflfV;, df> 
manding mo, for thoy now considered me aH a i>ri»oner, 
General Waniiington would not acquiesce inthi.s demand, say- 
ing ' that I Hhoulfl remain a hostage for my fatlior's good hf> 
havior.' I must here observe, that when General Washing- 
ton refused to deliver me up, the noV>le-minded J/utnam, as if 
it were by instinct, laid his hand on his sword, and, with a vio- 
lent oath, swore 'that my father's request nhovM be granted.' 
The commander-in-chief, whose influence governed the Con- 
gress, soon prevailed on them to consider me as a person wliose 
situation required th'-ir strict attention ; and, that I might not 
escape, tliey ordered me to Kingsbridge, where, in justice, 
I must say, that I was treated with the utmost tenderness. 
General Mifliin there commanded.. His lady was a most ac- 
complished, beautiful woman, a (Quaker. And here my lieart 
received its first impression — an impression that, amid the sub- 
sequent shocks which it has received, has never been effaced, 
and which rendered me very unfit to admit the embraces of 
afi unfeeling, brutish husband, 

" O, may these pages one day meet the eye of him who 
subdued my virgin heart, whom the immutable, unerring laws 
of nature had pointed out for my liusband, but whose sacred 
decree the barbarous customs of society fatally violated. To 
him 1 plighted my virgin vow, and I shall never cease to 
lamf;nt that obedience to a father left it incomj;lete. When 
I reflf;ct on my past suffei-ings, now that, alas ! my present sor- 
rows press heavily upon me, I can not refrain from expatiating 
a little on the inevitable horrors which ever attend the frus- 
tration of natural affections : I myself, who, unpitied by the 
world, have endured every calamity that human nature knows, 
am a melancholy example of this truth ; for if I know my own 
heart, it is far better calculated for the purer joys of domestic 
liffi, than Tor the hurricane of extravagance and dissipation in 
which f have been wrecked. 

" Why is the will of nature so often perverted V Why is 
social ha]>pirH;ss for ever sacrificed at the altar of prejudice ? 
Avarice lias usurped the throne of reason, and the affections 



92 LIFE OF AARON BURR. 

of the heart are not consulted. We can not command our dt 
, sires, and when the object of our being is unattained, misery 
must be necessarily our doom. Let this truth, therefore, be 
for ever remembered : when once an affection has rooted itself 
in a tender, constant heart, no time, no circumstance can 
eradicate it. Unfortunate, then, are they who are joined, if 
their hearts are not matched ! 

" With this conqueror of ray soul, how happy should I now 
have been ! What storms and tempests should I have avoided 
(at least I am pleased to think so) if I had been allowed to 
follow the bent of my inclinations ! and happier, O, ten thou- 
sand times happier should I have been with him, in the wildest 
desert of our native country, the woods affording us our only 
shelter, and their fruits our only repast, than under the canopy 
of costly state, with all the refinements and embellishments of 
courts, with the royal warrior who would fain have proved 
himself the conqueror of France. 

" My conqueror was engaged in another cause, he was am- 
bitious to obtain other laurels : be fought to liberate, not to 
enslave nations. He was a colonel in the American army, and 
high in the estimation of his country: his victories were never 
accompanied with one gloomy, relenting thought ; they shone 
as bright as the cause which achieved them ! I had communi- 
cated by letter to General Putnam the proposals of this gen- 
tleman, with my determination to accept them, and I was em- 
barrassed by the answer which the general returned ; he 
entreated me to remember that the person in question, from 
his political principles, was extremely obnoxious to my father, 
and concluded by observing, ' that I surely must not unite 
myself with a man who would not hesitate to drench his 
sword in the blood of my nearest relation, should he be op- 
posed to him in battle.' Saying this, he lamented the neces- 
sity of giving advice contrary to his own sentiments, since in 
every other respect he considered the match as unexception- 
able. Nevertheless, General Putnam, after .this discovery, 
appeared, in all his visits to Kingsbridge, extremely reserved ; 
his eyes were constantly fixed on me ; nor did he ever cease 
to make me the object of his concern to Congress ; and, after 



AID-DE-CAMP TO GENERAL PUTNAM. 93 

various applications, he succeeded in obtaining leave for my 
departure ; when, in order that I should go to Staten Island 
with the respect due to my sex and family, the barge belong- 
ing to the Continental Congress was ordered, with twelve oars, 
and a general officer, together with his suite, was dispatched 
to see me safe across the bay of New York, The day was so 
very tempestuous, that I was half drowned with the waves 
dashing against me. When we came within hail of the Eagle 
man-of-war, which was Lord Howe's ship, a flag of truce was 
sent to meet us : the officer dispatched on this occasion was 
Lieutenant Brown. General Knox told him that he had or- 
ders to see me safe to head-quarters. Lieutenant Brown re- 
plied, 'It was impossible, as no person from the enemy could 
approach nearer the English fleet ;' but added, ' that if I would 
place myself under his protection, he certainly would attend 
me thither.' I then entered the barge, and bidding an eternal 
farewell to my dear American friends, turned my back on 

LIBERTY. 

" We first rowed alongside the Eagle^ and Mr, Brown after- 
ward conveyed me to head-quarters. When my name was" 
announced, the British commander-in-chief sent Colonel Sherifi' 
(lately made a general, and who, during my father's life-time, 
was one of his most particular friends ; although, alas ! the 
endearing sentiment of friendship now seems extinct in his 
breast, as far as the unhappy daughter is concerned) with an 
invitation from Sir William Howe to dinner, which was neces- 
sarily accepted. When introduced, I can not describe the 
emotion I felt ; so sudden the transition in a few hours, that I 
was ready to sink into earth ! Judge the distress of a girl 
not fourteen, obliged to encounter the curious, inquisitive eyes 
of at least forty or fifty people who were at dinner with the 
general. Fatigued with their fastidious compliments, I could 
only hear the buzz among them, saying, ' She is a sweet girl, 
she is divinely handsome ;' although it was some relief to be 
plaepd at table next to the wife of Major Montresor, who 
had known me from my infancy. Owing to this circumstance, 
I recovered a degree of confidence ; but being unfortunately 
asked, agreeably to military etiquette, for a toast, I gave 



94 H F K O F A A K O X 1? L K K . 

'General Putnam," Colonel SheritVsaiil, in a low voice, 'Yon 
nmst not give luin here;' when SirAVilliani Howe eoniplai- 
sautly replied, 'O ! by all means; if he he the lady's sweet 
heart, I ean have no ohjeetion to drink his health.' This 
involved me in a new dilemma ; I wished mysolf a thousand 
miles distant, and, to divert the attention of the eonipany, 1 
gave to the general a letter that I had been eonnuissioned to 
deliver from Ounieral rutnam, of which the following is a 
copy. (^And here 1 consider myself bound to apologize tbi 
the bad spelling of my most excellent republican friend. Tlu 
bad orthography was amply compensated by the magn.animity 
of the m;m who wrote it) : 

*'^(iifu\ile Putnam's complin\ents to ^lajor ^loncrictVe, has 
maile hiui a prescjit of a tine daughter, if lie don't iicA- her ho 
nmst send her back again, and he will pre"\ ide her with a good 
(tci(/ husband.' 

''The substitution of ticfij for tchii/ husband, served as a 
fund of entertainment to the whole company." 

She proceeds to record the history of her marriage with 
]Mr. Ooghlan. who, she siiys, drove her into the arms of ,i 
p.nraiuour by ttie brutality of his conduct. She asserts that 
she had led a strictly virtuous life until, ai\er being forced 
into a marriage with a man she loathed, she was subiected bv 
him to harsh and cruel treatnxcjit. The staten\ents of a wonnui 
notorious for her vices ean not, of course, be regarded as evi- 
dence ; vet it seemed just to the memory of Burr for the 
ivader to be intorn^ed that the story of her seduction by him 
has no ci^nvboration in her own narrative. The n\an lu^s 
enough to answer for without having the ruin of this girl of 
fourteen laid to his charge. Her story, it must be admitted, 
is not very probable. Burr was, to a considei-able extent, liis 
general's g-eneral ; and if he had really loved A[iss Moncrietlb 
and she him, and each had desired marriage, I think that Gen- 
eral Putnatn could have been easily dissuaded from making 
any serious opposition to it. 

Perluij^ if the young lady had known who it w;vs that 
caused her removiU fix^m the city, she might not have been so 
ecvsily captivated. According to a story told by the late 



AID-DK-CAMP TO GENERAL PUTNAM. 95 

Colonel W. L. Stono (:nithor of the Life of l?rant), it was no 
other than Burr himsolf. Uot'oro hor arrival at (.Joneral Tut- 
nam's, it appears that Jiiirr, though ho was ilolighted with hor 
wit and vivacity, conceived tho idea that she might bo a British 
is|)y ; and as ho was looking over lior shoulder ono day, while 
she was painting a bouqiuU, the suspicion daitod into his mind 
that she was using the "language of llowers" for the ])uri)ose 
of convoying intelligence to the enemy. He communicated 
liis suspicion to General Washington, who thought it only 
prudent to remove her a few miles further inland, to tho (juar- 
tors of General IMilUin ; where, afler the evacuation of tho 
city, Burr met her again, and, as she says, woi\ her virgin af- 
fections. Colonel Stone was very intimate with Burr in his 
latter years, and h;u\ long conversations with him about revo- 
lutionary times, lie may havo derived this pretty talo from 
Burr himself. 



CHAPTER YIT. 

HE COMMANDS A REGIMENT. 

AjporsfTED A LrEUTENAirr-CoLoirEL — Comma>-[>8 a Eegimekt — Captitbes a BBiriBa 
Picket — Forms an Acquaintance ■with Mrs. Theodosia Peevost — Cojuiands 
A Brigade at the Battle of Monmouth — Asecdote. 

Major Burr continued to serve as General Putnam's aid 
for ten months after the retreat from New York, and bore his 
part in the toils and dangers of that dismal period. In the 
spring of 1777 a new army was to be raised, but he had no 
hopes of a regimental appointment iu it. In March, he wrote 
to his friend Ogden that he had not the least expectation of 
promotion either in the Une or on the staff, but as he was 
" very happy in the esteem and entire confidence of his good 
old general," he should be piqued at no neglect, unless partic- 
ularly pointed, or where silence would be want of spirit. It 
was true, he said, his equals and even inferiors in rank had 
left him ; and assurances from those in power he had had, un- 
asked, in abundance ; but of those he should never remind 
them. "VTe were not to be the judges of our own merit, and 
he was content to contribute his mite in any station. From 
this language we may infer that he thought himself an ill-used 
aid-de-camp. 

In July, 1777, while at Peekskill with General Putnam, he 
was notified by General Washington of his promotion to the 
rank of lieutenant-colonel. He was one of the youngest who 
held that rank in the revolutionary army, or who has ever 
held it in an army of the United States ; yet he thought the 
promotion unjustly tardy. In his letter of acknowledgment 
to the commander-in-chief, he said he was truly sensible of the 
honor done him, and should be studious to comport himself in 



HE COMMANDS A REGIMENT. 97 

his new rank so as to secure liis general's esteem ; yet he was 
constrained to observe tliat the late date of his appointment 
subjected him to the command of some officers who were his 
juniors last campaign ; and he should like, with submission, to 
know whether it Avas misconduct in him, or extraordinary- 
merit in them, which had given them the preference. lie 
wanted, he continued, to avoid eqiially the character of tur- 
bulent or passive, but as a decent regard to rank was proper 
and necessary, he hoped the concern he felt was excusable in 
one who regarded his honor next to the welfore of his coun- 
try. The general's reply to this letter has not been preserved. 

With the rank of lieutenant-colonel. Burr soon found him- 
self the sole commander of his regiment, his colonel not being 
a tiji^htino: man. 

To the strength of the patriot cause, every interest of the 
country had to contribute its quota ; rich men, money ; influ- 
ential men, weight and respectability ; efficient men, practical 
help. Many were, therefore, appointed to high posts in the 
army because they were persons of importance in civil life ; 
they gave their names to the cause. Among the reasons 
which made Washington the most complete exemplification 
of " the right man for the right place,''^ that history exhibits, 
one was that lie was a great Virginia gentleman, who had 
vast plantations, hundreds of slaves, a fine mansion, and rode 
about in a chariot and six. " One of the finest fortunes in 
America," John Adams exultinolv exclaims, in mentionintr 
his acceptance of the command. And his exultation was just ; 
for such things have not merely a legitimate influence in hu- 
man aftairs, but the fact of such a fortune being freely risked 
in the cause, showed the faith the owner had in its justice, 
importance, and chance of success. 

Colonel Malcolm, to whose regiment Burr was appointed, 
had been a leading merchant of New York, and was a man 
of wealth and influential connections. At the time of Burr's 
appointment, the regiment, such as it was, lay on the Ramapo, 
in Orange county, New Jersey, Avhither he at once repaired, 
and found the colonel in command. Each surprised the 
other. Malcolm was amazed at the youthful appearance of 

5 



98 LIFE OF AAEON BUEK. 

his second in commancl, and began to feai- that he would be 
continuallv gottinuj h'nn and the rosiiment into trouble. But 
over the iVialcolms ot" the world notlnng was easier than for 
Burr to gain a complete ascendeney ; and, accordingly, a 
very few days suthoed for the lieutenant-colonel to inspire 
his chief with perfect confidence in his abilities. Burr, on his 
part, saw that Colonel Malcolm was an amiable gentleman, 
and no soldier. In a short time, the colonel removed with 
his family twenty miles fron\ where the regiment lay, leaving 
Burr master of the situation ; saying, as he departed, " You 
shall have all the lionor of disciplining and lighting the regi- 
ment, while I will be its lather." lie was as good as his word, 
Durinjr the whole war he did not once lead the roiriment into 
action, nor personally conunand it more than four weeks. 
IVom the day he joined to the day he ceased to be a soldier, 
Burr was, to all intents and purposes, the regiment's chief 
officer. 

Enjoying now an independent command. Colonel Burr 
sprang to his duties with an ardor that soon produced sur- 
prisuig results. The regiment was in a condition that Avould 
Lave been ridiculous if the cause had been less serious, and the 
enemy more remote. The men, of whom there were about 
two hundred and sixty, were of good material, but almost 
wholly unacquainted with their duty; and of the officers an 
unusual number were young gentlemen of the city, members 
of wealthy families, effeminate in character, and destitute of 
the tmutest intimation of military knowledge. These were 
just the eircmustances to call into exercise the strong and 
shining qualities of Colonel Burr, lie drew tight the reins of 
discipline wlueh Malcolm had held with an easy hand. Severe 
drills and rigorous inspections took the place of formal ones. 
Discovering at a glance the hopeless inefficiency of many of 
the officers, one of his lirst objects was to get rid of the worst 
of them. After some preliminary correspondence Avith Gen- 
eral Conway, and feeling his way in the regimont, he took the 
bold step of ordering several of the officers home, on the sim- 
ple ground of their utter uselessness. If any gentleman, he 
told them, objected to his dbmissal, he. Colonel Burr, held 



HE COMMANDS A REGIMENT. 99 

himself personally responsible for the measure, and Avas ready- 
to aftbrd any satisfaction that might bo demanded. 

He had road his men correctly. All of the dismissed sub- 
mitted to his decree without audible nmrmur, except one, who 
■wrote an absurdly defiant reply to the autocratic colonel. 
Burr was as civil as an orange to the offended youth, inform- 
ing him with elegant brevity, that on a certain ihiy, at a cei*- 
tain hour, he should be at the village nearest the young gen- 
tleman's residence, where, at the tavern, he would wait any 
conuuuiiication he might be pleased to send. To the minute, 
Colonel Burr was at the place. No one was there to meet 
him. After waiting awhile, he walked over to the family resi- 
dence of the dismissed, where, indeed, he was "well known, 
and had often been a guest. The ladies of the family, of 
whom a large ninnber were assembled, received him with 
Cordiality and distinction ; the young officer, too, was ex- 
tremely polite, and the party sat down to dinner as though 
nothing had occurred. The colonel conversed with his usual 
gaycty and spirit until the conclusion of the repast, when he 
struck terror to the party by blandly requesting the young 
man, whom the ladies called Neddy, to walk out with him. 
They had not gone many steps from the house, before the la- 
dies, in a body, came shrieking after them. " O, Colonel Burr, 
what are you going to do with Neddy ?" cried one of them. 
They protested that he had meant no harm, and that he would 
never write so any more. They would see to that if Colonel 
Burr would only forgive him. The colonel, amused at the 
turn the affair had taken, replied, in his politest manner, that 
nothing was further from his desire than to harm the young 
gentleman ; he would merely take occasion to advise him that 
when next he felt incUned to indite a swelling letter to a gen- 
tleman, he should submit the document to the perusal of the 
ladies before sending it. With this admonition the colonel 
handed Neddy over to the ladies, bowed, and took leave. Burr 
used to say that this incident gave no incorrect idea of the 
stuff some of the regimental officers were made of at the be- 
ginning of the Revolution. 

Two months of incessant exertion on the part of the col- 



& 



JOO LIFE OF AAEON BURR. 

onel brouo-ht the regiment to a tolerable state of discipline, and 
increasedlts effective force to over three hundred men. Burr 
was soon the idol of his troops, for he knew how to command 
them Exacting the most prompt and implicit obedience, he 
commanded only Avhat was right and necessary, and was 
prompt to notice and applaud good conduct. Not a blow was 
o-iven in the regiment while he was at the head ol it, though, 
St that time, corporeal punishment was a custom in the conti- 
nental army. He was a natural commander. Men knew by 
instinct that he was competent to direct them ; they followed 
eao-erly where they saw him lead, and bore gladly what they 
saw he never shrank from sharing with them. His eye was 
everywhere. The sick he cared for with the tenderness and 
constancy of a brother, often assisting them with his own 
hands, and oftener with his purse. "His attention and care 
of the men," says a subaltern of the regiment, " were such as . 
I never saw, nor any thing approaching it, in any other officer 
thouah I served under many." Such was his vigilance, that 
some'of his men thought him a kind of necromancer, or magi- 
cian who could see one sentinel nod and another prowling 
about for plunder, when he was fest asleep in his bed. In the 
course of a campaign or two, Malcolm's regiment was one of 
the best disciplined in the army. 

In September, in the midst of his drilling and recruiting, a 
rumor ran through the neighborhood that the British, in great 
force, had marched out of New York, and were laying was e 
the lower parts of Orange county, and driving off the cattle 
and horses. The country people were panic-stricken and made 
instant preparations for flight. The rumor proved true, and 
positive intelligence soon reached Colonel Burr that the ene- 
my, two thousand strong, were within thirty miles of him. 
To order out his whole force, to detail a small guard for his 
camp, and to march toward the enemy with the rest, was the 
work of the first hour of the afternoon ; and before the sun 
set, he had reached Paramus, sixteen miles distant. On the 
• march he was met by an express from General Putnam, advis- 
ing him of the movements of the enemy, and recommending 
him to retreat, with the public stores in his keeping, into the 



HB COMMANDS A REGIMENT. 101 

mountains. Observing that he would never run away from 
an enemy he had not seen, and that he would be answerable 
for the public stores and for the troops, he pushed on toward 
Paramus, with new energy. There he found a body of militia 
of the county, that had rendezvoused at Paramus on the first 
alarm, and were making confusion worse confounded by their 
ill-directed, frantic exertions. Among their other feats, they 
had pulled down most of the fences of the neighboring farms 
Avith a A^ague idea, dear to the minds of miUtia, of making 
breast-works with which to stay the conquering progress of 
the enemy. On Burr's arrival, he took the command of these 
disorderly troops ; and though, as one of them afterward said, 
he seemed but a boy, yet as he alone appeared to know what 
he was about, they obeyed him willingly. His own men he 
posted in a strong position, and took the usual measui'es to 
guard against surprise during the night. The militia, after 
first directing them to repair the damage they had done, he 
provided for in a similar manner. Then, selecting seventeen 
of his best men, he started, soon after dark, and marched with 
all the rapidity possible, and in perfect silence, toward the 
scene of the enemy's devastations. He was determined on 
seeing for himself what there was there to run away from. 

About ten o'clock in the evening, Mdien within three miles 
of Hackensack, he received certain information that the most 
advanced of the enemy's pickets was one mile distant. His 
men, who had marched thirty, miles since leaving camp, were 
now extremely flitigued. Pie led them to a wood near by, and 
ordered them to lie down and keep perfectly silent until he 
should return. In a few minutes the whole party were asleep 

Colonel Burr now went forward alone to rcconnoiter. With 
the stealthy caution of an Indian, he glided toward the picket, 
and saw them at length, lying on the ground, guarded by two 
sentinels. He was near enough to overhear their watchword. 
He then made a wide detour, and ascertained that this picket 
was so far in advance of the main body as to be out of hear- 
ing. In making these observations, and thoroughly satisfying 
himself of their correctness, the greater part of the night 
passed, and before he again reached his own party, it was 



10-2 LIFE OV AAKON BUBB. 

Avitliiu nn hour of daybreak. TIo now quietly ami quiekly 
■\vi>ke his men, told tlieiu in a tew ileeided words that he was 
going to atlaek the enemy's pieket, ordered them to follow 
at a certain distance, and forbade any m:ui to speak, on pain 
of instant death. The little eolumu pushed ibrward rapidly. 
So aeeuratelv had the eolonel noted the locality, and calculated 
the positions of the sentinels, that he was able to lead his 
men between those two unsus[>ecting individuals at the mo- 
ment when they were farthest apart; and he was almost upon 
the sleeping picket betbre a man of it began to stir. At tlie 
distance of ten yards, liurr, who was a pace or two in ad- 
vance, was challenged by a sentinel, whon\ ho instantly shot 
dead, and then gave the word for the attack. "With fixed 
bayonets his men rushed upon the drowsy foe, who were made 
prisoners before they were completely awake. One otlicer, a 
sergeant, a corporal, and twenty-seven privates fell into their 
hands on this occasion. Only one of the picket, beside the 
sentinel, made any resistance, and he was overpowered at\er 
he had received two bayonet wounds. He attempted to march 
away with his comrades, but, at\er going a short distance, 
wjis compelled to lie down, exhausted and tainting fronx loss 
of blood. 

''Oo a little further, my good tellow," said Burr, "and we 
will get a surgeon tor von." 

"Ah, sir," gasped the dying veteran, "all the doctors 
in America can do me no service, for I am a dying man ; but 
it grieves me sore to the heart to think I have served my 
ki>ig upward of twentv vears, and at length must die with a 
charged musket in my hand." 

In a few tninntes, surrounded by friends and foes equally 
sympathizing, the old soldier breathed liis last. Of the attack- 
ing party not a man received a scratch. 

Instantly Colonel Burr, with the instinct of a true soldier, 
set about turnitig this slight and easy victory to the greatest 
possible advantage, lie dispatched an express from the very 
scene of his exploit to the main body of his troops at Para- 
mtis, ordering them to march toward him imn\ediately, with 
all the militia of the district. In various directions he di*- 



I 



HE COMMANDS A RKGIMKNT. 103 

jiatclioil inessoiigors to rally the country to liia supjiort. The 
news of tho niglU's advonlure, nuignilieil into a si>londiil vic- 
tory over the red coats, flew Ukc the wind, and disphiced the 
panic of the day before by its natural consequence, an all-defy- 
ing conlidonce. At that time the patriots stood in such awe 
of the l>ritish regulars that the actual killing of a few, and 
the })arade of a few more as prisoners, were events of a most 
ins})iring nature, calculated to call forth every musket of the 
neighborhood in which tliey occurred. Before night, Colonel 
J>urr found himself at the head of an imposing force, with 
which he continued to make such lorrible demonstrations, (hat 
the enemy retreated with precipitation, leaving behind them 
the cattle they had collected. All night Colonel Burr was again 
on the alert, arranging his nfiscellaueous forces, and preparing 
to march on the morrow in pursuit. But in the morning, came 
peremptory orders for his regiment to join the main body of 
the army in Pennsylvania, where Washington was lighting 
hand to hand with the British for the possession of Phihidel- 
j)hi,i, with large odds against him. For forty-eight hours 
lie had not once closed his eyes, nor scarcely sat down ; 
vet nothing but the arrival of these orders could have held 
hin\ back from an inii)etuous march atler the Hying enemy. 
For lifty years the events of these exciting days and nights 
were narrated in the county ; where, to the last, Colonel 
Burr had devoted friends. In tho army tho story of his tak- 
ing olV the picket so neatly gave him new popularity. 

In all hi;i busy career. Colonel liurr could scarcely ever have 
been more absorbed in his duties than while thus drilling and 
lighting his regiment in Orange county, during tho first weeks 
of his exercising independent command. Yet it was ther.e and 
then that he formed an acquaintance with a lady who, if we 
may believe a lover's language, lirst made him respect the in- 
tellect of woman, and to whom he owed the happiest hours 
tlie happiest years, of his existence. 

At Paramus, sixteen miles from where his regiment lay, 
there lived, in modest elegance, a family of the name of Pre- 
vost, a branch of a tiunily distinguished in the society and in 
the annals of England. Colonel Prevost was with his regi- 



104 LIFE OF AARON BURR. 

ment in the West Indies, and at Paramus lived his wife, Theo- 
dosia Prevost, hev sister Miss De Yisme, and their mother, 
Mrs. De Visme, and the two little sons of Colonel and Mrs. 
Prevost. The ladies were aecomplished and intelligent ; for 
a lono- time their house had been the center of the most ele- 
gant society of the vicinity, and after the Revolution had be- 
<rnn, officers of rank in tlie American army still visited them. 
By the strict law of the state they would have been compelled 
to Avithdraw to the British army, and some of the severer 
AYhigs wished the law to be enforced in their case, as it had 
been in others. But these ladies, besides being beloved in 
the nciahborhood, siuarded thoir conduct with so much tact 
that no very serious opposition was made to tlieir residence 
within the American liues. The sudden death of Colonel Pre- 
vost in the West Indies gave them at length the right to 
embrace either party in the great dispute. When Colonel 
Burr took the command in that part of the country, the Pre- 
vosts held their old position, and their house was a favorite 
resort of the American otlicers. It is not unlikely tliat his ac- 
quaintance with the family began on that night of terror when 
the British threatened to lay waste the country, and the 
American militia attacked the firm fences. If so, the young 
soldier must have presented himself to the ladies in the char- 
acter that ladies love, that of a hero and i)rotcctor ; a protec- 
tor from the ravages of troops who were there for the express 
purpose of plundering and destroying. Be that as it may, it 
is certain that about this time Mrs. Prevost and Colonel Burr 
conceived for each ether a regard which rapidly warmed into 
an ardent passion. 

But there was no time for dalliance now ; he at once began 
his march across New Jersey, using all his usual vigilance 
to avoid the enemy, who were known to be in motion, but 
for what object was uncertain. In November, 1777, he joined 
the main army, twenty miles above Philadelphia, and after 
holding a position in advance for some weeks, went into winter 
quarters, with the rest of the troops, at Valley Forge. 

There, as elsewliere, his relations with the commander-iu- 
ohief were unfortunate. He planned an expedition against the 



HE COMMANDS A REGIMENT. 105 

British posts on Statcn Island, the localities and inhabitants 
of which had been familiar to him from childhood. He pro- 
posed the scheme to General Washington, and asked for two 
hnndred men of his own regiment as a nucleus, relying on his 
ability to raise the country in case he should appear there 
with a respectable body of troops. General Washit)gton re- 
jected the proposal ; and when, afterward, he acted upon the 
idea, gave the command of the ex^jedition to Lord Stirling, 
under whom it proved a failure. There, too, as elsewhere, 
Colonel Burr contrived to distinguish himself in circumstances 
that gave no promise of an opportunity. The American army 
had gone into winter quarters after a succession of discom- 
fitures ; and being still in the neighborhood of a powerful en- 
emy, and far less able to cope with him than before, they were 
discouraged and nervous. Ten miles from the town of hovels 
in which the main body cowered, shivered and starved during 
that dreadful winter, there was a pass called the Gulf, from 
which the alarm was to be expected if the British army should 
menace an attack. A strong body of militia was stationed 
there to defend the pass and to watch the movements of the 
enemy. Tliese militia fancied they heard the tramp of British 
columns in every nocturnal noise, and were continually send- 
ing false alarms to head-quarters, \vhich obliged the general to 
get the troops under arms, and, frequently, to keep them on 
the alert during the whole night. These alarms, it was soon 
found, arose from the want of a proper system of observation, 
and from a general looseness of discipline in the corps. In 
these circumstances, General McUougal, who well knew the 
quality of Colonel Burr as a soldier, recommended General 
Washington to withdraw from the guard at the Gulf all 
officers superior in rank to BuiT, and give him the command 
of the post. It was done. 

On taking the command. Colonel Burr proceeded at once to 
put in force a system of the most rigorous discipline. He was 
ubiquitous as usual ; visiting the most remote sentinels pre- 
cisely at the moment when he was least expected, and when his 
presence was least agreeable. The daily drills were severe 
and regular ; his detection of offenders magical and relentless. 

5* 



106 LIFE OF AAKON BTJRE. 

To militiamen, who had been accustomed, while iu winter 
quarters, to lead lives of perfect idleness, to leave camp and 
return to it almost at their pleasure, and to regard all persons 
possessing property calculated to solace tlie tedium of a sol- 
dier's winter, in tl\e light of Tories, whom it was patriotism to 
plunder, Colonel Burr's system was insupportable. The bet- 
ter class of the troops saw that this unaccustomed rigor was 
necessary; but a majority were exceedingly discontented, and 
finally resolved, at any cost., to rid themselves of their com- 
mander. Burr was informed of their intention, and of the time 
when he Avas to receive his quietus. That evening, before oi*- 
dering out the detachment, he caused every cartridge to be 
withdrawn from the muskets, and provided himself M'ith a 
well-sharpened sword. It was a bright, moonlight evening, and 
as he marched along the line he looked the ringleaders in the 
face, keenly watching for the first olFensive movement. At 
length a man stepped from the ranks, leveled his musket at 
him, and cried out, " Now is your time, my boys." With a 
quickness and selfpossession peculiarly his own, Colonel Burr 
raised his sword and struck the arm of the mutineer above the 
elbow, breaking the bone, and leaving the limb hanging by 
little more than the skin. 

" Take your place in the line, sir," said the colonel, quietly. 

The man obeyed. In a few minutes the corps was dismissed ; 
the man Avent to bed ; the amputation of the arm was com- 
pleted by the surgeon ; and no more was heard of the mutiny. 
"While Colonel Burr commanded at that post, the army slept 
in their huts undisturbed. There was not one false alarm. 

It Avas during this Avinter that the popularity of General 
Gates, and the discontents of some ofticers nearer the person 
of General "Washington, gave rise to the Avell-knoAvn cabal to 
supplant the commander-in-chief During the previous autumn, 
while Washington had lost Philadelphia, and experienced lit 
tie but disaster, the fortune of Avar, rather than his OAvn gene 
ralship, had giA'cn Gates the glory of Burgoyne's surrender, 
an event Avhich electrified the Avorld, and raised General Gates 
to a popularity disproportioned to his merits. Colonel Burr 
was too young an officer to take a leading part in the move- 



HE COMMANDS A REGIMENT. 107 

ments against General Washington ; Lut it appears to have had 
his sympathy. Plis disUke to the general was rooted ; and the 
general, though he trusted and valued Colonel Burr as an 
officer, is said, even at this time, to have distrusted him as a 
man. 

With the commencement of active operations in the spring, 
these intrigues ceased ; and the murmurs against the com- 
mander-in-chief were soon drowned in the applause which re- 
warded his partial success at the battle of Monmouth. In that 
action Colonel Burr commanded, in the absence of his seniors, 
one^f the brigades of Lord Stirling's division, the brigade 
consisting of his own regiment, and parts of two others. On 
this occasion, his activity and vigilance, his long-continued ex- 
ertions during three of the hottest days and niglits of summer, 
came near proving fatal to him. All through the sultry night 
that preceded the battle, he was on the alert, surveying the 
ground and preparing for the fight. 

From before the dawn of the eventful day until late in the 
evening, his men were under arms, either engaged or waiting 
orders, exposed to a sun so powerful as to be only less fatal 
than the enemy's fire. Toward noon, while Stirling was thun- 
dering away with his artillery at the enemy. Colonel Burr 
perceived a detachment of the British issuing opposite him 
from the wood which hemmed in the small marshy plain in 
which the battle was fousjht. Before him was a morass over 
which a bridge had been thrown to the solid ground beyond. 
Eager for a share in the glory of the day, he instantly gave 
the word for his brigade to cross this bridge, and march to- 
ward the approaching enemy. When about half his force had 
crossed, and were within the enemy's fire, one of General 
Washington's aids galloped i;p to Colonel Burr and ordered 
him to halt his men, and hold them where they were until fur- 
ther orders. Burr remonstrated vehemently. He said it was 
madness to halt Avith his force so divided that it could not be 
formed, and though within range of the enemy's artillery 
could make no effectual resistance. The aid-de-camp replied 
that the order was peremptory and must be obeyed, then 
rode away, leaving Colonel Burr in a position most distressing. 



ins L I F E O F A A R O N K U R R . 

The cannon-balls soon began to roar above the heads of his 
men, and to strike with threatening proximity. Soon Colonel 
Burr saw brave men begin to fall about him, in consequence, 
as he thought, of blundering generalship ; and his feelings 
toward the commander-in-chief were deeply embittered. In 
a few minutes Colonel Dummer, second in comand to Burr, 
was killed ; and, soon after, at a moment when Colonel Burr 
had by chance thrown his leg forward, a ball struck his horse 
on the saddle-girth, killed the animal instantly, and tumbled 
his rider headlong on the ground. Burr was up again in a 
moment uninjured. As no further orders arrived, the men who 
had crossed the bridge rejoined their comrades ; and what 
their commander had fondly hoped would have been a glorious 
and successful charge resulted in confusion, demoralization, 
and loss. Smarting under this disappointment, it is not sur- 
prising that Burr should have warmly taken the side of Gen- 
eral Lee in the contest which ensued between that officer and 
General Washington. It was in a letter to Burr that Lee 
made the remark frequently quoted, that he was going to 
resign his commission, retire to Virginia, and learn to hoe 
tobacco, " which I find," said the irate and sarcastic general, 
" is the best school to form a consummate generals 

It was late in the night after the battle, before Colonel Burr 
threw himself upon the ground to sleep. What with the heat, 
and with his labors, which had been unremitted for forty hours, 
he was completely exhausted, and he sank into so profound a 
sleep that he had lain for some hours in the morning sun be- 
fore he awoke. The effect of this exposure was exti-emely 
injurious. On getting up he could scarcely walk, so stiffened 
were his limbs; and in the course of the day worse symptoms 
appeared. His constitution did not recover from the effects 
of those days and nights at Monmouth for more than five 
years, the disease having finally taken the form of chronic 
diarrhea, from which his abstemiousness in diet at length, but 
\ery gradually, relieved him. During the rest of the Mon- 
mouth campaign, it Avas with diffici Ity and pain that he per- 
foi-mcd the duties of his command. 

Immediately after the battle, he was dispatched Dy General 



TIE COMMANDS A KEGIMENT. 109 

Wasliington to move about in the vicinity of New York, to 
procure information respecting the motions and intentions of 
tlie enemy ; which latter it was of the first importance to as- 
cei-tain. He was desired " to send one, two, or three trusty 
persons over to the city to get the reports, the newspapers, 
and the truth, if tliey can," and " to employ three, four or 
more persons to go to Bei-gen Heights, Weehawk, Hoebuck, 
or any other heights thereabout, convenient to observe the 
motions of the enemy's shipping." This commission he exe- 
cuted to the satisfaction of General Washington, and, return- 
ing after an absence of some weeks to the main body, was 
ordered to march with his regiment to West Point, " with all 
convenient dispatch, marching ten miles a day, as water and 
ground will permit." The regiment, however, marched with- 
out its commanding officer, as he was selected by General 
Washington to perform the delicate duty of conducting cer- 
tain influential Tories within the British lines. That done, he 
proceeded to West Point, his health being then completely 
broken. 

Finding himself in the autumn quite unfit for duty, he took 
a short leave, and spent a few weeks at his old home in Eliza- 
bethtown, greatly to the improvement of his health. Assured 
that nothing but some months of repose would place him be- 
yond the danger of relapse, he applied to General Washing- 
ton for leave " to retire from jxiy and duty" till the next cam- 
paign. "My anxiety to be out of pay," said he, " arises in no 
measure from intention or wish to avoid any requisite service. 
But too great a. regard to malicious surmises, an(i a delicacy 
perhaps censurable, might otherwise hurry me unnecessarily 
into service, to the prejudice of my health, and without any 
advantage to the public." General Washington replied that 
this was carrying delicacy a little too far ; it was not custom- 
ary, and it would be unjust ; and, therefore, while he had the 
leave asked for, his pay would be continued. Upon the re- 
ceipt of the general's reply. Colonel Bui-r repaired forthwith 
to West Point, being unwilling to accept a furlough unless his 
pay was intermitted. 

During part of the winter he was the officer in command of 



110 LIFE OF A A K O N B U K K . 

that important post. He was now twenty-three years old, but 
the youtlifulness of his appearance still gave rise to ludicrous 
incidents. One day, while he was at AVest Point, a farmer 
came to the works, and asked to see Colonel Burr. An or- 
derly sergeant conducted him to the apartment where Colonel 
Burr was. 

" Sir," said the farmer, " I wish to see Colonel Burr, as I 
have something to say to him." 

" You may proceed," was the reply, " I am Colonel Burr." 

The countryman looked incredulous, and said, "• I suppose 
you are Colonel Burr's so;?." 

The sentinel at the door overheard this colloquy, and Burr 
thus acquired the nickname in the regiment of Colonel Jiurr^s 
so?i. 



CHAPTER YIII. 

THE -WESTCHESTER LINES. 

OON&ITION OF TIIK CoiTNTRT BUFOKE Coi.ONEL BURR TOOK THE COMMAND — SUPPRESS- 
ES Plunuerino — II18 IIahits as a Soi.DiKii — Destroys the Block Fort- 
Love AUVENTirilK HY NllJHT — KeSIONS HIS C0MMI8HION — TESTIMONY OP THE 

Men wiroM iik Oommandeo — Anecdotes — Interview with Mrs. Arnold at 
I*AKAML-s — Effects of the War upon his CnABAOTEB and Fortune. 

In January, 1779, Colonel Burr was appointed to a post of 
greater importance and difliculty than any he had pi-eviously 
held, and one in which he acquired his greatest distinction as 
a soldier. lie was placed in command of the "lines" in West 
Chester county, New York, a region lying between the posts of 
the British at Kingsbridge, and those of the Americans fifteen 
or twenty miles above them. 

This district of country, from the day the British- were mas- 
ters of the city of New York, was more ex|)osed to the worst 
ravages of war than any other portion of the United States 
A gentleman who lived in it during the first five years of the 
contest, says that the county was " a scene of the deepest dis- 
tress. From the Croton to Kingsbridge every species of rap- 
ine and lawless violence prevailed. No man went to his bed 
but under the apprehension of having his house plundered or 
burned, and himself or family massacred before morning. Some, 
under the character of Whigs, plundered the Tories ; while 
others, of the latter description, plundered the Whigs. Par- 
ties of marauders, assuming either character or none, as 
suited their convenience, indiscriminately assailed both Whigs 
and Torie's. So little vigilance was used on our part, that em- 
issaries and spies of the enemy passed and repassed without in- 
terruption." What added to the evil was, that the lower part 
of the county contained a large number of houses of consider- 
able pretension, the residences of wealthy farmers or wealthier 



112 LIFE OF AAROX BURR. 

citizens. The res-ion was one to reward enterprising ma- 
rauders. 

Colonel Burr entered upon the command of the " lines" 
on the 13th of January ; his head-quarters being at White 
Plains, twenty-seven miles above the city. His line of posts 
extended from the Hudson to the Sound, fourteen miles 
White Plains being midway between the two waters. His 
great objects were to prevent unlicensed communication with 
the enemy, to keep their spies from reaching the upper coun- 
try, and to put a stop to the scenes of robbery and bloodshed 
for which the region was notorious. 

The very morning on which he assumed the command, an 
occurrence took place which let liim into the secret of the 
disorders. On his arrival in camp, a few days before, he had 
discovered that of all the duties devolving on the force about 
to be under his command, the one most in favor with officers 
and with privates, with regulars and with militia, was scout- 
ing ; and that an expedition of the kind was then on foot, to 
be led by Colonel Littletield, Burr's predecessor. Not wish- 
mo- to begin his reign witl\ an ungracious act of authority, he 
did not countermand the proposed excursion, though its advis- 
ableness was by no means apparent to him. On the contrary, 
he thought it ill-advised, and unnecessary. Nevertheless, on 
the very evening before he entered formally upon the duties 
of the station. Colonel Littlefield, with his scouting party of 
one hundred and fifty men, set out from White Plains, Avith 
the ostensible object of watching the enemy's movements in 
the neighborhood of New Rochelle. Colonel Burr was most 
strenuous in urging Littlefield to respect the property of 
friend and foe. The party were gone all night. In the morn- 
ing, to the equal astonishment and disgust of Colonel Burr, 
the troops came straggling in loaded with plunder, and lead- 
ing horses with mountains of bedding, blankets, and clothing 
on* their backs. Officers and men seemed equally concerned 
in the robberies. Before tlae party had been in an hour, 
farmers from New Rochelle came into camp complaining 
piteously of the plunder of their houses and stables, asserting 
their friendliness to the patriotic cause, and imploring Colonel 



THE WESTCHESTER LINES. 113 

Burr to restore tlieir property. " Sir," wrote that officer in 
his report to General McDougal, " till now, I never wished 
for arbitrary power ; I could gibbet half a dozen good Whigs 
with all the venom of an inveterate Tory !" 

Colonel Burr's resolution was instantly taken. The j^lunder, 
as it came in, was deposited by the plunderers in a certain 
spot, to await an equitable division among the zealous party. 
Burr seized the whole of it, and proceeded immediately to 
take measures for its restoration. He took so decided a stand 
on the occasion, and made it so evident that he was in earnest, 
and that he was a man to be obeyed, that this affair, appa- 
rently inauspicious, was the beginning of a new order of things 
in the Westchester lines. For the time, however, he was 
utterly disgusted ; particularly when he found that the offi- 
cers, nearly to a man, secretly or openly favored the system 
of plunder. " Truly an ominous commencement," he wrote 
to his general. " Is this the promised 2yrotectio7i ? I i-ead in 
the face of every child I pass ; for the whole honor of the ex- 
pedition redounds to me. I now perceive," he added, " from 
whence arose the ardor for scouting." The old general ap- 
proved his conduct, but advised him to deal tenderly with the 
plunderers, "as they are brave, and are very sore by the plun- 
dering of the Tories." 

Burr began that vei-y day to set on foot a new system. He 
rode to every post before night set in, and announced his de- 
termination to protect all the peaceable inhabitants of the 
county, Avhether Whig or Tory, and to punish all marauders 
with the utmost severity of military law. Any officer who so 
much as connived at robbery he would send up to the general's 
quarters with a file af men, the hour the crime was discovered. 
He began, immediately, to make out a list of all the inhabit- 
ants of the district, and divided them into classes, Tories, 
Whigs, timid Whigs, spies, horse-thieves, and others, designat- 
ing each by certain secret marks opposite his name. He also 
made the outline of a map, on which, as his knowledge of the 
country increased, he marked the roads, swamps, creeks, woods, 
hiding jjlaces and by-paths, which might be made .available 
by disaffected persons in escaping pursuit, or evading ob- 



114 LIFE OF AARON BUKK. 

servation. lie organized the respectable young men of the 
county into a corps of horsemen, to serve without pay, and on 
special services when summoned, and in transmitting intelli- 
gence. So complete and efficient a system of videttes, patrols, 
and signals was established, that nothing of the slightest im- 
portance could take place in any i)art of the county without 
immediate information of it being dispatched to head-quarters. 
To prevent the intrusion of the enemy's spies, who had fre- 
quently come to head-quarters on frivolous pretexts, he would 
not allow any one who lived below his line of posts to pass 
them, but appointed a few well-known persons to receive their 
communications and complaints, and forward them to head- 
quarters. Another advantage of this regulation was, that it 
diminished the number of vexatious applications for redress, of 
slight or imaginary grievances, with which previous command- 
ers had been beset. 

Colonel Burr soon had an opportunity of showing the 
troops and the people that he would be as strict in enforcing 
his regulations as he was ingenious in devising tliem. A few 
days after the affair of the scouters, the house of one Gedney 
was robbed by night, and the family insulted and alarmed. 
The next morning, a son of Gedney, disregarding the rule 
that no one from below might go direct to head-quarters, made 
his way, by secret paths, to Colonel Burr, and laid before him 
his complaint. Burr's first act was to order the young man 
into confinement for breaking the rule; which done, he bent 
all his energies and all the resources of his system to the de- 
tection of the plunderers. He I'ode over to the plundered 
house, where he learned that the marauders, having worn 
disguises, had not been recognized by Gedney or his family. 
By what means he detected them was unknown ; but before 
twenty-four hours had elapsed, every man of the party had 
been secured, and a great part of the stolen ])roperty recov- 
ered. Upon referring to his register. Colonel Burr found that 
Gedney was a Tory ; but he was known to have taken no active 
part against the patriots ; and Burr had promised that all such 
should be protected. lie therefore caused the robbers to be 
drawn up in presence of the troops, laden with their booty, 



I 



THE WE8TCHESTEE LINES. 116 

and tlien liad them conducted by a company of soldiers to 
Gedney's liouso. There, he required them, first, to restore 
the stolen goods ; next, to pay in money for such as had been 
lost or damaged ; thirdly, he compelled each man to i)resent 
Gedney with a sum of money, as a compensation for his fright 
and loss of time ; fourthly, he had each robber tied up and 
flogged ten lashes ; lastly, he made each of them ask pardon 
of tlie old man, and promise good behavior in future. All 
these things were done with the utmost deliberation and ex- 
actness, and the effects ])roduced by them were magical. Not 
another house was plundered, not another family was alarmed, 
while Colonel Burr commanded in the Westchester lines. The 
mystery and swiftness of the detection, the rigor and fairness 
with which the marauders were treated, overawed the men 
whom three campaigns of lawless warfare had corrujtted, and 
restored confidence to the people who had passed their lives 
in terror. 

That Colonel Burr was a wizard or necromancer, and could 
tell a thief by looking into his face, was the firm belief of a 
large number of his men ; an opinion which received frequent 
confirmation from the remarkable talent he possessed for hold- 
ing his tongue till the moment arrived for speaking. Among 
other incidents, the following was adduced as a proof of his 
supernatural powers. On the day of his arrival in camp, be- 
fore he had assumed the command, and before he had estab- 
lished any means of procuring intelligence, he visited all the 
posts, and took a wide survey of the country. On his return, 
he said to a lieutenant whom he knew, "Drake, that post on 
the North river will be attacked before morning; neither 
officei-s nor men know any thing of their duty ; you must go 
and take charge of it ; keep your eyes open, or you will have 
your throat cut," Lieutenant Drake went, and the event proved 
as Burr had pi-edicted. The fort was attacked that night by 
a company of horse, whom Drake repulsed, with loss to them 
and honor to himself When he returned next morning to 
head-quarters, bearing with him the trophies of war, and told 
his story to his comi-ades, every one wonderingly asked, how 
could Burr know that f 



116 LIFE OF AARON BUER. 

The habits of the man, too, were the theme of admu-ation 
among the troops. His diet was simple and spare in the ex- 
treme ; he slept as lightly as a hare, and a wonderfully short 
time. He would throw himself npon a oouch of buffiilo skins, 
all accoutered as he was, sometimes without even talcing off his 
boots, and after sleeping an hour or two, would spring up, 
perfectly awake in a moment, and, calling two or three of his 
trusty horsemen, mount and ride from post to post, visiting 
every guard and sentinel of his command, and returning at 
daylight to snatch another hour of sleep. During the whole 
of that winter, with the exception of two nights, when he was 
very differently employed, he rode from sixteen to twenty- 
four miles every night, between midnight and daylight, chang- 
ing his route continually, so that he was always expected at 
all points ; and if at any time he was less expected than at any 
other, then^ of all other times, he was sure to present himself. 
He thus at every station exerted the spell of his personal pres- 
ence, and every man acted as under the eye of his commander. 
While requiring from officers and men an amount of duty and 
an exact obedience to which they had never before been ac- 
customed, he was not less particular in attending to their 
health, comfort, and pleasure. Their clothing, food, lodgings, 
and medicines, were objects of his thoughtful care, and he 
even contrived games for the amusement of the men when off 
duty. 

Men treated justly, and commanded ably, never behave in 
any but one way, and that is gloriously xoell. The troops 
nnder command of Colonel Burr did so. They caught his 
spirit, and seconded his endeavors with enthusiasm. During 
the first weeks of his command, there were several contests 
with gangs of horse-thieves and other robbers, in which the 
troops fought with Burr's own intrepidity. Once, in that 
winter, Governor Tryon came out of New York with two 
thousand men for the purpose of driving off cattle, and of 
destroying certain salt-works in Westchester county, on the 
shore of Long Island Sound. Burr received instant informa- 
tion of this formidable movement, and sent word to General 
Putnam, wlio was then nearer the enemy than himself, that if 



( 



THE WESTCHESTER LINES, * 117 

he would keep them at bay for a few hours, he would himself 
fall upon their rear and give a good account of them. Burr 
set out inmiediately with all his force, reoukr and irrec-ular 
and marched toward the Sound. On the way he receivecf from 
Genei-al Putnam the information that Tryon had turned off 
toward Connecticut ; which induced Colonel Burr to chano-e 
the du-eclion of his march. A few hours later, he learnJd 
that this information was erroneous, when he again altered 
his course, and marched with such rapidity that he got within 
cannon-shot of Governor Tryon's rear before night. The 
British, now thoroughly frightened, made off with°such celer- 
ity as to escape Burr's exhausted force, leaving all their cattle 
and plunder behind them, and a large number of stragglers. 

Soon after this affair, the British ei-ected a block folt in the 
lower part of the county, which Colonel Burr resolved to 
destroy. This fort was in the enemy's country, within a few 
miles of a post where some thousands of the British troops 
were quartered ; and it was therefore necessary to effect its 
destruction with little noise, and with great dispatch. Ac- 
cording to his custom. Colonel Burr began by personally and 
thoroughly inspecting the edifice, and the country adjacent • 
noting accurately the distances, and measuiing with his eye the 
height of the port-holes. Hand-grenades, rolls of port-fire, 
canteens filled with inflammable materials, and short ladders' 
were next provided ; and a number of men, volunteers, were 
carefully instructed' in the use of those agents of destruction. 
Forty volunteers were to form the party of attack, twenty of" 
whom carried the inflammables and the ladders. Early in the 
evening the expedition left camp, and reached a place one mile 
from the fort about two o'clock in the morning. Here the 
party halted. Colonel Burr now disposed of his men so as to 
cut off the escape of the garrison, and ordered Captain Black, 
with theparty of volunteers, to advance silently and swiftly 
to the fort, disregarding the challenge of the sentinels, to 
place the ladders, and throw into each port-hole a mass of the 
combustibles with a slow match attached. The plan succeeded 
to admiration. Before the garrison was awake, the fort was 
on fire past extinguishing. Hand-grenades were then thrown 



118 LIFE OF AAKON BURR. 

into the upper port-holes, which drove the troops below. In 
a very few minutes they were glad enough to escape from the 
burning house and surrender. The fort was completely de- 
stroyed, and Colonel Burr reached camp soon after daybreak, 
with a long tile of prisoners, and without the loss of a single 
man of his own party. The success of this little enterprise, 
and its audacity, gave new eclat to the name of the officer 
wlio planned it. 

Colonel Burr's night rides have been mentioned above, and 
an allusion made to the fact that on Uoo nights of the wintei 
he was otherwise engaged. The story of his adventures on 
those nights he used to tell with peculiar pleasure, and it is 
surprising that so singular a narrative should not have been 
given to the public by some of the collectors of revolutionary 
incidents. The tale strikingly exemplifies Burr's executive 
talent. 

Over the Hudson river, fifteen miles or more from the 
shore, lived the accomplished and charming Mrs. Prevost. From 
his outpost on tlie Hudson, Colonel Burr could see the hills 
among which nestled the home of this beloved firaily, but be- 
tween thcTU rolled a river, two miles \A'ide, and infested with 
the gun-boats and sloops of the enemy, Avhile beyond it 
stretched an expanse of country, held sometimes by one 
party, sometimes by the other, but either of whom would 
prevent or delay the progress of a soldier bound on an errand 
of love. The duties of Burr's command, too, were onerous 
and incessant. By day, he was an autocratic magistrate, hear 
ing complaints, deciding disputes, writing reports, inspecting 
troops, sending off prisoners, purchasing supplies. We see 
him sending \ip a number of prisoners handcuffed in couples 
and, as they start, the guard being greatly outnumbered by 
them, he sends a sergeant along the line to cut the strings of 
their breeches, which obliged them to employ their other hand 
in holding up that important garment. Again, he writes to 
the general, "There are a number of women here of bad char- 
acter, who are continually running to New York and back 
again ; if they were men, I should flog them without mercy." 
Then, he is scouring the country, far and near, for shoes, for 



THE WESTCHESTER LINES, 119 

molasses, for wheat, for rum ; which last, he tells the general 
he can buy at White Plains at twenty dollars a gallon. By 
night he was riding among his posts and sentinels, knowing 
well that only vigilance like his kept the guards from being 
surprised ; as was sufficiently proved when that vigilance was 
withdrawn. 

Yet in spite of these difficulties, he contrived twice during 
the winter to visit Paramus. In achieving these visits, he 
equaled Leander in daring, and surpassed him so much in in- 
genuity as to get over his Hellespont with a dry over-coat, 
and to go glowing, instead of dripping, into the arms of his 
Hero. Six of his trustiest troopers, men whom he knew were 
devoted to him, he sent early in the evening to a place on the 
banks of the Hudson, since and for ever made classic ground 
by the residence of Washington Irving. Under the lofty bank 
of the river, there he had caused an ample barge to be moored, 
well furnished with blankets and bulfalo skins. Earlier by 
some hours than usual. Burr left his quarters at White Plains, 
mounted on a small, swift horse, and galloped rapidly to the 
river side, visiting posts and sentries as he went. His perfect 
manner of procuring intelligence had made him certain that 
nothing requiring his presence would occur before morning, 
yet he provided for every probability and possibility of dan- 
ger, and for any unforeseen delay that might occur in his re- 
turn. At nine in the evening, his faithful troopers at the barge 
heard the clattering of hoofs, and in a moment their command- 
er stood in their midst, bridle in hand. Instantly, and with- 
out the interchange of a syllable, the girth was unloosened, 
ropes were adjusted about the body of the panting steed, and, 
by the method well known to farriers, the animal was gently 
thrown and bound ; then lifted by main strength and placed 
on the bed provided for him in the boat. Burr stepped 
aboard; the men plied the. muffled oars with a will; and, 
within half an hour, the boat grazed the opposite shore. In 
the same silence, and with the same celerity, as before, the 
horse was lifted out, unbound, and got upon his feet. A little 
rubbing and walking up and down restored the animal to his 
wonted condition. The boat was drawn snugly up on the 



120 LIFE OF AARON BUEK. 

shore ; the men hiid down in the bottom of it to sleep ; while 
Burr mounted and rode rapidly away up the hill toward the 
lionie of his heart. Before midnight, he was there. Two houre 
of bliss Hew fast — how swiftly, lovers know. Tiien again 
to horse. About four in the morning, he was with his faithful 
crew on the river's bank, when the poor nag was astonished 
once more in the naanner just described, and the party re- 
crossed the river. Arrived on the other side. Colonel Burr 
mounted, rode over to camp, which was seven miles from the 
river, challenging sentinels, visiting posts, and comporting him 
so exactly in his usual manner, that not the slightest suspicion 
arose of the singular way in which he had passed the night. A 
little before daylight, quite in his accustomed style, he gave np 
his horse and threw himself upon his couch. Except the two or 
three individuals to whom the secret was necessarily contided, 
not a man even of those who had aided him, knew the object 
of that night excursion. Twice, as before stated, he visited 
jMrs. Prevost in the same manner, and with equal success, 
while he couunandcd the lines of Westchester. 

But no constitution could long bear such exhausting eflbrts, 
and Burr's was seriously impaired when he began them. As 
the spring drew on, the attacks of his disease became more fre- 
quent, and he was compelled to the conclusion that only a very 
long period of repose could render him tit for the duties of 
a campaign. On the 10th of March, 1779, he wrote to Gen- 
eral Washington resigning his commission, giving as the rea- 
son, his physical inability to perform the duties of his com- 
mand. General Washington, in accepting his resignation, 
observed that "he not only regretted the loss of a good 
officer, but the canse which made his resignation necessary." 
And so, after four years of active service, Colonel Burr ceased 
to belong to the arniy. 

What occurred in Westchester after his retirement sliows 
in a striking light the value of his services there. Samuel 
Young, who lived in the county during the war, and was one 
of Burr's troop of irregular horse, and after the peace held the 
office of surrogate, writes with more minuteness on this point 
than any other of Burr's fellow-soldiers. He says that during 



THE WESTCIIESTKli LINES 121 

the period of IJurr's command, only two attempts were made 
\)y the enemy to surprise our guards, in Loth of Avhieh they 
were defeated ; but after lie left. Colonel Tlioinpson, " a man 
of approved bravery," succeeded, and, in open day, the enemy 
surprised him at head-quarters, took hini prisoner, killed or 
captured all his men, except about thirty, who ran away. 
Soon after, Mr. Young's father's house was burned by a party 
of the enemy ; and, ere long, the American lines were moved 
twenty miles beyond those which Burr had so completely de- 
f(Mided. And even there the posts were not safe from sur- 
])ris('. Tlie next year Colonel Green, who then commanded in 
the lines, and had his head-quarters near the Croton river, 
was attacked and killed, together Avith liis second in com- 
mand, and a large number of officers and men. 

Mr. Young concludes a long narrative of Colonel Burr's 
achievements in Westchester county, in the following words: 
" Having ])erused what I have written, it does not appear to 
me tliat I have conveyed any ade(piate idea of Burr's military 
character. It may be aided a little by reviewing the efl'ects 
lie produced. The troops of which he took command were, 
at the time he took the command, undisciplined, negligent, 
and discontented. Desertions were frequent. In a few days 
these very men were transformed into brave and honest de- 
fenders ; orderly, contented, and cheerful ; conlident in their 
own courage, and loving to adoration their commander, Avliom 
every man considered as his personal friend. It was thought 
a severe punishment, as well as disgrace, to be sent up to the 
camp, where they had nothing to do but to lounge and cat 
their rations. During the whole of this command there was 
not a single desertion, not a single death by sickness, not 
one made prisoner by the enemy ; for Burr had taught us 
that a soldier with arms in his hands ought never, under any 
circumstances, to surrender ; no matter if he was opposed to 
thousands, it was his duty to fight. After the first ten days 
there was not a single instance of robbery. The whole coun- 
try under his command enjoyed security. The inhabitants, 
to express their gratitude, frequently brought presents of such 
articles as the country alforded ; but Colonel Burr would ac- 

6 



122 LIFE OF AARON BUKR. 

cept no present. He fixed reasonable prices, and paid in cash 
for every thing that was received, and sometimes, I know, that 
these payments were made with his own money. "Whether 
these advances were repaid, I know not. Colonel Sinicoe, one 
of the most daring and active partisans in the Bi-itish army, 
was, with Colonels Emerick and Delancey, opposed to Bnrr on 
he lines, yet they were completely held in check. But per- 
haps the liighest eulogy on Colonel Burr is, that no man could 
be found capable of executing his plans, though the example 
M'as before them. When Burr letl the lines a sadness over- 
spread the country, and the most gloomy forebodings were too 
soon fulfilled." 

Richard Piatt, who was adjutant-general to General McDou- 
gal at the time, speaks of Colonel Bnrr\s conduct in similar 
terms. The oftlcers, the soldiers, and the inhabitants, he says, 
though all unknown to Colonel Burr before, " were inspired 
with confidence by a system of consummate skill, astonishing 
vigilance, and extreme activity, which, in like manner, madf 
such an impression on the enemy, that after an unsuccessfu' 
attack on one of his advanced posts, he never made any othei 
attack on our lines during the winter. His humanity, :nid 
constant regard to the security of the property and persons of 
the inhabitants from injury and insult, were not less conspicu- 
ous than his military skill, No man was insulted or disturbed. 
The health of the troops was perfect. Not a desertion during 
the whole period of his command, nor a man made prisoner, 
although the colonel was constantly making prisoners. A 
country, "which for three years before had been a scene of rob- 
bery, cruelty, and murder, became at once the abode of seen 
rity and peace. Though his powers were despotic, they were 
exercised only for the peace, the security, and the protection 
of the surrounding country and its inhabitants." 

Colonel Burr had not yet done with war. In June, when 
a large force of British troops seemed to threaten West Point, 
Colonel Burr was at Newburo- a e^nest of General McDou- 
gal, who was in great alarui because of his repeated failures to 
get word to General Washington of the movements of the en- 
emy. The English general had stationed troops and Tories in 



THE WESTCHK8TEK LINES. 123 

the passes of the mountains, who captured or killed the mes- 
sengers. In these circumstances, General McDougal, who 
well knew Burr's ability, requested him, as a personal favor, 
to undertake the mission. Colonel Burr, sick as he was, and 
dangerous as was the errand, consented, and succeeded. He 
carried no written dispatch, but gave General Washington a 
verbal account of the critical position of affairs, which induced 
him to march forthwith toward the Highlands. 

In making the journey across Orange county, he had a 
hidicrous contest with a mule, which he was fond of describ- 
ing for the amusement of children ever after. The country 
had been swept of its horses, and arriving at the Townsend 
iron works with his horse completely worn out, he could pro- 
cure no substitute but a half-broken mule called "Independ- 
ence," notorious for its obstinate and vicious disposition. There 
was no choice but to attempt this animal ; and, accordingly, 
Burr, in the presence of a number of the country people, 
mounted, and urged him onward. The mule was true to his 
name, and would not move. The rider whipped and spurred, 
the by-standers pulled and shouted, the mule kicked and 
reared. After a minute or two of these proceedings, the in- 
furiated beast bolted i'voin the crowd, and ran up a steep 
bank, and reached the top before his rider could stop him. 
On arriving there. Burr managed to turn him round, and was 
trying every argument to induce him to descend, when the 
mule appeared suddenly to conceive an idea. About half way 
down the hill there was a platform, with a large opening in it, 
through which charcoal was accustomed to be " shot," a pro- 
digious heap of which had accumulated below on the side of 
the hill. The mule, with malice in his mind, made for this 
aperture, and leaped through it upon the coal. But the rider 
was not to be thrown so easily ; and down the mountain of 
charcoal, the mule and the man slowly slid together, amid 
clouds of dust, and the laughter of the crowd. When they 
reached the bottom, the animal showed signs of being more 
tractable, and, after being led a mile or two, went perfectly 
well ; and was ever after a tolerably behaved mule. 

This journey cost him dear. He went immediately after to 



124 LIFE OF AABON BUKR. 

Connecticut, where, at New Haven, he was compelled to take 
to his bed, and spend some days in complete quiet. While 
still extremely debilitated, he heard of the landing of two 
thousand of the enemy's troops, one thousand at East Haven, 
and the others at West Haven. Governor Tryon, Burr's old 
acquaintance, commanded the force which landed at East 
Haven, where he distinguished hiniself, in his usual style, by 
setting the town on fire and allowing his men to commit dis- 
graceful excesses. The people of New Haven were in dread- 
ful alarm. The women and children were hurried from the 
town. The roads leading to the country were crowded with 
fugitives and vehicles, hastily loaded with household goods. 
Hearing that the enemy were actually approaching, Colonel 
Burr rose from his bed, dressed himself, and proceeded to a 
part of the town Avhere he was informed the militia of the 
place had assembled. Finding them panic-stricken and about 
to fly, he addressed them, and offered to lead them against 
the enemy ; but terror possessed their souls, and in a few 
minutes the Avhole body melted away and vanished from the 
scene. He was then told that the students of Yale College 
had organized themselves into military companies, and were 
now drawn up on the College green. He galloped to the s})ot, 
and reining up his horse in front of the youthful corps, he told 
them who he was, urged them to set an example, to march 
out against the ruthless foe, and defend the rights of which 
they would soon become the inheritors, or the loss of which it 
would soon be theirs to deplore. The exploits of Aaron Burr 
w^ere fiimiliar at least to every young man in New England ; 
and when, at the conclusion of his speech. Colonel Burr asked 
them to receive him as their leader, and, under his command, 
attack the enemy, there was no hesitation or faltering among 
them. They marched into the town, where they were joined 
by a small body of militia, and then advanced boldly toward 
the enemy. On coming near them, some shots were ex- 
changed, and Governor Tryon, not knowing how great a force 
might be opposed to him, halted, and then fell back a little to 
wait for his artillery. Colonel Burr thus kept him from ad- 
vancing for three or four priceless hours, during which all the 



THE WTCSTC HESTER HlfES. 125 

women and children, the sick, and immense quantities of valu- 
able ])io]>erty were removed to ])laces of safety. When, at 
length, Tryon, with all his force, began again to move toward 
the town, Burr led off his regiment of boys in excellent order. 
The old soldier delighted to tell this little story. lie was a 
lover of young life, and proud of the confidence which the 
young ever rei)Osed in him. Nothing in his military career 
gave liim such pleasure to look back upon as this compara- 
tively trivial incident. 

The excitement of this adventure sustained him while it 
lasted, but he dismounted from his horse only to go again to 
his bed. During the succeeding autumn and winter he did 
little but take care of his shattered constitution, and form 
plans for the prosecution of his legal studies. 

In tlie summer of 1780 he was in New Jersey once more, 
and making such frequent visits to the hoiise of Mrs. Prevost, 
as to excite a general belief among his friends that he was 
paying his court to the sister of that lady, Miss De Visme. 
Colonel Troup, as we read iu one of his letters, tells Burr in. 
Jime of this year, that the Miss Livingstons had inquired 
about him in a very friendly manner, and since Ik; had been 
with them, he had had an opportunity of removing the sus- 
picion they had of his courting Miss Visme. "They believe 
nothing of it now," adds Colonel Troup, " and attribute your 
visits to Paramus to motives of friendsliip for Mrs. Prevost 
and the family. Wherever I am, and can with propriety, you 
may be sure I shall represent this matter in its true light." 
From this it would appear that Colonel Burr had not yet con- 
fided his real object to his friends, of whom Colonel Troup 
was then one of the most intimate; and remained such, 
through all vicissitudes, for neai"ly seventy years. 

In September, it was Colonel Burr's fortune to witness at 
the house of Mrs. Prevost .a memorable scene. 

The news of Arnold's treason was flying in awful whispers 
over the country. Soon after the first shock of the discovery, 
came touching descriptions of Mrs. Arnold's grief at her hus- 
band's crime, of which, it was universally believed, she had 
been ignorant up to the moment of his flight from West 



4J() LI FTC OF AARON BURR. 

Point. Tho historic vo;ulor is fnnuliav with TTnTnilton's high- 
lUnvii unniitivo ol' tho soono whioli transpiiod umlor his own 
oyos. 

" AnioKl, a moinont bot'oro sotting out," Avrote ILuniUon to 
CoUmioI 1. anions, " wont into IMis. AvnoUVs apartinont, and 
inlorniod lior that sonio transaotioius had just oonio to lighti 
Avhioh must tor ovor banish hiui iVoni his ooinitry. Sho toll 
into a swomv at this declaration ; and ho lotl lior in it to con- 
sult his own sat'oty, till tho servants, alarmed al her cries, 
came to her roliol'. Slie roniainod tVantio all day ; accusing 
every one who approached her with an intention to murder 
her child (an infant in her arms) ; and exhibiting every other 
mark ot'tho most genuine autl agonizing distress. Exhausted 
b_v tho fatigue and tumult ol' her spirits, her frenzy subsided 
towaril I'vcning, and she sank into all the sadness ot'aflliction. 
It was impossible not to liave been touched with her situation. 
Every thing atVocting in female tears, or in tho misfortunes of 
beauty ; ev«>ry thing [lathetie in the wounded tenderness of a 
wite, or in the apprehensive fondness of ft mother ; and, till I 
ha\ reason {o change the opinion, every thing amiable in tho 
sufferings oC iimocence ; conspired to make her an object of 
sympathy to all who were present. She experienced tho most 
delicate attention, and every iViendly office, till her departure 
for riiiladelphia.-' 

This was the romantic falsehood oC the atfair. It was fitted 
to deceive the gooddiearted Hamilton, who was then himself 
ft lover, and therefore full of tenderness tor all women ; and 
the story was one which a young gentleman of a rhetorical 
turn, and who indeed owed his advancement to "the llowers 
of his pen," would delight to tell. It fell to Burr's lot to be- 
come acquainted with the repulsive truth. He was sitting one 
evening with j\[rs, Prevost, when the approaeli of a party of 
horse was htwrd, and soon afler, a lady vailed, and attired in 
a riding-habit, burst into the room, and hurrying toward 3[rs. 
Prevost, was on the point of addressing her. Seeing a gen- 
tleman present whom, in the dim light of the apartment, sho 
did not recognize, she paused, and asked in an anxious tone, 

"Am I safe? Is this gentleman a friend ?" 



i 



THE WKSTCIIE8TKK LINKS. 127 

" Oil, yes," \v:iH Mrs. IVovosI'h I'oply, " lie is my most partic- 
ular lri(!U(l, (Joloiicl Hurr." 

"'i'iiaiik God !" ex(.;laim(!(l Mrs. Arnold, ibr hIic it was; 
'I've boon playin<^ the hypocrite, and I'm tired of it." 

She tlien gave an account of tlu; way she liad deceived 
(J('ii(;ral Washinjijtoii, Colonel ir:iiniitoii, and the other Amer- 
caii ollicers, who, she said, believed her innocent of tlie trea- 
son, and had given her an escort of horse from West I'oint. 
She made no scruple of confessing the part she had borne in 
the negotiations with the JJritish general, and declared it was 
she who had indnecul her husband to do what he had done. 
Slu! jiasscd tlie niglit at I'aramus, taking cai'C to resume her 
acting of the outi'aged and ("rantic woman, whenever strangers 
were present. ('olonel liurr's relations with tlu; .Sliij)|)eii 
family, of which Mrs. Arnold was a member, had been of the 
most intimate character from childhood. They had been his 
father's fiends ; and the orphan boy had b(M'n taken from his 
motluM's grave to their lujine in I'hiladelpliia. lie stood 
coward this fascinating, false-hearted woman almost in the 
light of a younger brother, and he kept her secret until she 
was ])ast being harmed by the telling of it. 

With this sc(uie the history of Colonel Burr's military 
care(!r may litly close, lie had borne well his part in the 
r((Voliitionary struggle. That combination of qualities and de- 
lects which fits a man to be a successful military commander, 
he possessed in a more remarkable degree, perhaps, than any 
otlu.'r Anujrican who has won distinction in war. If ho had 
been as much in the; eye ol" Na[»oleon as he was in Washing- 
ton's, the emperor would have made a marshal of him, and ho 
would have shared with Napoleon his splendid unmortality. 
But for that, as for so much else, Aaron JJurr had the misfor- 
tiuH? to be born on the wrong continent. 

During the foui- years of his connection with the army, hia 
fortune was greatly impaired. Kviivy ofli(!(!r who had any 
thing to lose, sulfered in his circumstances in the Revolution, 
and Burr more than most, lie had the popular and fatal 
vice of improvidence. At the age when Washington was 
(iarning three guineas a day in the woods, glad of the oppor- 



128 LITE OF AAEON BUEE. 

tunity to do so, and ratlier proud of tlio fact than otherwise, 
Burr was spending-^ -with inconsiderate generosity, the capital 
ot his patrimony. AVitli ania/ing talents for gaining money, 
he had an ecpially wonderful i'acility for getting rid of it. It 
slipped througli his lingers ; it ran out of his pocket ; it would 
not stay with liim. To see a fellow-soldier in distress, and to 
empty his purse for las relief, were simultaneous actions with; 
him. ' 

Nor did he spare expense in forwarding any scheme of his 
own, whether of pleasure or advantage. From Ins corre- 
spondence at this time, it is plain that he was a frequent 
lender of money to embarrassed friends. Colonel Troup tells 
him on one occasion that he had received from Mr, Edwards 
a thousand pounds of Burr's money, a part of which, says 
Troup, I shall take the liberty of borrowing, and send the 
rest to the owner. Ogden, as we have seen, sells Burr's horse, 
and writes to him that he can not send him the proceeds, for 
the excellent reason that he has spent them. These are fair 
oxam})lcs of Burr's looseness in alfairs pecuniary. It is a 
pleasant way enough while the money lasts ; but it never does 
last. No fortune can stand the drain of an uncalculating im- 
providence. And a worse feature of the case is, tliat a man 
"who is careless of meuni is in frightful danger of losing some 
portion of his regard for tHum, also. ^'■The worth (if id diyiiit}; 
of gold,'''' was one of the regenerating phrases with which 
Goethe set right his age. The strong, slow characters that 
support the social labric, know its truth by an instinct which 
they too often want who adorn, and cheer, who move and ad- 
vance the race. 

Generous we may truly call Colonel Burr. But there is a 
nobler generosity than that exercised by him ; it is allied with 
frugality, and becomes possible through frugality. Burr was, 
at all periods of his life, extremely liable to be imposed xipon. 
His feelings were easily moved ; his acuteness utterly failed 
him the moment his tenderness was awakened ; and he gave 
freely of what he never really folt the value to relieve dis- 
ti'esses which he could not witness without pain. 

Another tendency of lus nature was strengthened by the 



THE WESTCHESTER LINES. 129 

war. It is the soldier's art to instantly adapt means to ends; 
it is his duty, by all means, to gain his ends. Ilis object, the 
destruction of the enemy, is simple, obvious, unmistakable ; 
and, in compassing it, he not merely may^ but nmst^ be deaf 
to the cry of anguish. He is not merely released from the 
moral restraints of peace, but he is obliged to trample them 
under foot. He destroys without compunction ; he liills with- 
out compassion. His mind is fixed upon his object ; he burns 
merely to succeed. Victory alone, victory always, is accepted 
as proof of his ability. But in peace it is not always glorious 
to succeed ; for then we estimate success chiefly by the means 
used to attain it. 

Aaiun Burr, like his flxther before him, was a man who had 
by nature a marvelous faculty of bringing things to pass. He 
saw his object with eagle clearness and he had a wonderful 
intuitive sense of the means, and all the means, and, particu- 
larly, the readiest means, by which that ol)ject could be 
reached. This faculty will be abundantly exetnphfied by-and- 
by. It is alluded to here, merely for the purpose of suggest- 
ing that four years of a soldier's life may have had the two- 
fold effect, first, of intensifying his perception of objects to be 
gained, and, secondly, of diminishing his scrupulousness with 
regard to the use of means. 

6* 



CHAPTER IX. 

ADMISSION TO THE BAR, AND MARRIAGE 
Thb American Bar before tite Revolution-— Burr Resumks his Legal Studies — His 

CoRRESrONOKNCE WITU MrS. PrEVOST — ADMISSION TO THE BaR — CUARACTER OF Mk*. 

Prevost — TuEiK Marriage — Kemoval to Kew York. 

Next to war, the law had been, from an early period in 
the history of the colonies, the favorite profession with their 
youns^ men of spirit. John Adams, in 175G, when he had 
just begun his legal studies, writes to a friend in justification 
of the choice he had made of a profession. One of his reasons 
was, that " the students in the law are very numerous, and 
some of them youths of whioh no country, no ago, would 
need to be ashamed. And if," he adds, " I can gain the honor 
of treading in the rear, and silently admiring the noble air 
and gallant achievements of the foremost rank, I shall think 
myself worthy of a louder triumph than if I had headed the 
whole army of orthodox ministers." After the termination of 
the old French war, the law began to be a lucrative profes- 
sion also. Joseph Reed, of Philadelphia, writing in 1767, 
when he had been but two years at the bar, mentioned 
that his professional income was a thousand pounds a year. 
He was, no doubt, unusually fortunate. But, at that time, 
there were not many occupations carried on in the colonies, in 
the exercise of which, a young man of two years' standing, 
could have earned so much. 

The legal system, was, of course, in all respects, that of the 
mother country. The wig and gown were worn by lawyers 
and judges ; and much is implied in that trivial circumstance. 
Young men of fortune thought their studies incomplete until 
they had resided two years at one of the Inns of Court 
in London. In the Temple Church may still be seen, or 



ADMISSION TO THE BAR, AND MARRIAGE. 131 

might, a few years ago, some tablets erected to the memory 
of American students who died while pursuing their studies 
in London before the Revolution. If Aaron Buit had come 
upon the stage of action a few years earlier, it is likely enough 
that, with his pecuniary means, he would have sought, by such 
a residence abroad, to have hastened his ascent to the highest 
walks of the profession at home. For it was a great thing, 
and an honorable, in those days, even to have seen the coun- 
try which the colonists were proud to call their own. 

For eighteen months after leaving the army. Colonel Burr 
was an invalid, and he did little but visit his friends, read 
French, write letters, and wait upon Mrs. Prevost. In the 
autumn of 1780, his health having greatly improved, he be- 
gan to study law in earnest, under Judge Patterson, of New 
Jersey. Judge Patterson was a thorough lawyer, and desired 
to make his pupils such, by grounding them well in the prin- 
ciples of the law, and not till afterward instructing them in 
the practice. Burr desired to reverse this order, and acquire 
the practice first. There were reasons why he wished to 
hurry into the practice of his profession : he was in love ; his 
purse needed replenishing, or would soon need it ; and it was 
certain, that if the independence of the colonies were secured, 
of wliich there seemed little doubt. Whig lawyers would mo- 
nopolize the business of the profession, and the offices to which 
the profession leads. With the intention of attempting a short 
cut to the bar, he left the office of the methodical Patterson 
in the spring of 1781, and went to reside at Haverstraw, in 
New York, with Thomas Smith, a city practitioner of note, 
but now suspended from business by the war. Mr. Smith had 
a good library, and plenty of leisure. With him Burr made a 
l)eculiar and characteristic arrangement. For a certain sum, 
the lawyer agreed to devote a specified time to his pupil every 
day, anjd to answer any questions he might propose. Burr 
now read law, literally, day and night, sometimes spending 
twenty hours at his books out of the twenty-four ; taking 
notes as he read ; reserving doubtful jjoints to be elucidated 
by his instructor, and endeavoring, in "all ways, to acquire the 
familiar use of the weapons with which lawyers war with one 



1.'^'2 I.I K V. o V A A K o X n r u k . 

another nnd with justioo. To boooino cvpcrt, not in-ofounil, 
was tho ohjiH't oT l>is innnoilialo o\iM'(i(Mis. Of suoh sUidonts 
it may bo obsorvod, that havuig' booon\o prolioiont in tho prac- 
tice, thoy aro novor «irawn to nuHlitato doojtiy upon tho 
thoorv ot' thoir protossion. 

Ilis lot tors, diuinj;' tho yoar, show that his favoritf aythors 
hon woro (.^hoslorlioM, \'oltairo, and Koussoan. Thori^ was 
nmoh studying ol' Kroneh in Uurr's oiroU\ T\w laiuily of Mrs. 
IVovost was of Swiss orioin, and Fronoh had boon tlioir na- 
tive lanjiuajvo. Tho " Uoiinitajxo,'' iho laniily soat ot' tl\c Po 
\'isnio's, whovo INIr-^. Pn^vost now rosidod. hail a oonsidorabU' 
library ol' Kronoh b(»oks, whioh noiirishod Kurr's Fronoh lastos, 
and inlroduood to his notioo sovoral authors ot' wluun ho had 
boon ignorant. In his lottors to Mrs. Provost, his lavorito 
authors woro tVo<]uontly tho thoino of roniark ; to whioh sho, 
as ot\on, graoolully ri>}>lios. Sho sa\s on v>no oooasion, th.it 
his tavorablo opinion oC ^'olta^ro ploasoil hor, l)ooauso it showod 
that ho had a mind of his own. " Tht^ Kn>ilish," said sho, 
" tVoni n.ational ioalousv and onvv to tho Fronoh, dotraot. 
him; but, without boins;" his disoiplo, wi> may do justice to his 
merit, and admire liim as a judioious and ingenious author." 
In ai\othor letter, sho extols religion, and doolaros that '' worlds 
sluMild not pm'ohaso the little slu> possessed. ■' To something 
Hurr had s.aid about C^hi^storliold, sho replied, that tho inihilg- 
OTioo Mhioh ho applauded in that author was tho only part o( 
his wiilings sho thought reprehensible, but that only w lion .all 
tho w.Mld turn envoys, will Chestorli(>ld bo thoir pi'opor guido. 
In ono letter, she ti^Us him, that thoir being the subjoot ol' 
much intpiiry, oonitH'turo, and oalunmy w.as no more than tlu\v 
might to expect.: "My atttMition to yon,'^'she adds, '' w.is 
♦n on ]^ointod (Mion;;h lo .attract tho obsorvalivMi ot' all w h<> 
visited tho lu>uso : but yi>ur osteon; more tli.in oon\pensatod 
for tho worst thoy oould s.ay." 

Burr's ro}>ly to this letter is oharaotoristic. Ho tolls hoi* 
I hat tho eaUnnniator shall one day repent his insolence and in 
il>o mo.in time, thoy nuist be more cautious in preserving .ap- 
po.aranoos. '' ^uavifcr in modo^/ortifo' in re, is a maxim." he 
nays, " which would boar shrcto of comment and dai/s o/ re- 



A I> M f .'; S I O >f TO r II K I! A R, A N O AT A IMt r A fl K, I .'{3 

p IT I ion,'''' Tlicy irnist not iriind those tiillcH. "Tluit inind," ho 
;iiI(1m, "in truly p;ro;iL wlii(!h (trin })(>fir with cqiKiiiiinily ifio 
liilliiijr jiiid uiiavoidMbh; vcxatiotiH of life, niid In; Jiirecto'l only 
l»y those evenls which determine our Hidnttuntial bliss. Every 
pfiiod, and c^very situation has a poition of those Irillin/^ 
(^rosaes ; and those who ex|K;et to avoid tllern all, or conquer 
tlieiri all, must l)e wi'etched without res|iit(!." This train of 
remark was habitual with Colorml iJtn-r all his days, 'J'o jtre- 
srnt a |»ano|)ly of stec-l to the minor shafts of inisllu'tuDe, to be 
(|nick to disrciii thf! event of real importance, to b(! neither 
elatfd nor de[)r(!SS(id by what(!ver nii»fht occur, to bound 
lightly u|» after llie fartlufst fall, to ac-(|uir(; evtiry kind of de- 
vice of self control, were what lu; chielly enjoined ii[>on his 
ehi!<lren, his ])U)»ils, and his ]»rot(?^6es, Selfcontrol, JJurr 
would say, was th'? nutans oi' self-indulgence, and tlie con- 
dit ion of conl rollin;^ others, 

Alt(!r readin/^ law for six months at ilaverstraw, lie thou<^ht 
himself eom]»elent to practice; an opinion to which ati (!vent 
of the time probably contributed. In Novc^mber of this year, 
Ili<! leifislatiire of New York passed an act diH(piali(yiu<jf all 
the Tru-y lawyers froir) pi-acticin^ in the courts of that State, 
r.uir \u) sooner hcird of this than Ik; rcisolved to make an 
flfort to reali/.(! [larl, of its Ix^ncdits himself, and, a few days 
aftru', he was in AHiany for tlm purpose of <'i|»plyin;( for ad- 
mission to the bar. Ibit <linicull,ies aros(!, TIk! ride of the 
court, was, that candidates must have spent three years in the 
study of the law before admission, and Colonel Ibirr couhl 
scarcely pretend to more than one year's study. Nor could 
h(! find a Iawy,(!r in (he State willing to Tnak(! a nujtion foi- th 
(!ourt, to set a.sld(! the rule In tluise circumstances, the <;au 
didate iindcii.ook the manafijemiinl, of the case himself. Ilav- 
in<f first, conciliate*! the ^ood will of tlu! jud^e in private, ;uid 
made; him acrpiainted with the grounds of his applical ion, Ik; ap- 
]icar(Mrin (^ourt at the proper time, made the requisite! motion, 
!uid ^ave the reasons why h<! thoii^flit it should be granted. 
He said that lie had bc/j;un his studi(iS before the Revolution, 
and should lontr since have b<!en entitled to admission lo the 
l);ir, Idii foiihe service he Uad rendered as a soldier. " Nt» 



134 LIFE OF AARON BUKR. 

rule," liG observed, "could bo intended to injure one whose only 
misfortune is having sacrificed his time, his constitution, and 
his fortune to his country." The court decided that the rule 
with regard to the period of study might, for the reasons 
given, be dispensed with, provided the candidate could show 
that he possessed the requisite knowledge. The examining 
counsel, as may be imagined, gave him no indulgence. They 
wished his failure. But after an examination, prolonged, criti- 
cal, and severe, which he jDassed triumphantly, he was licensed 
as a^i attorney. This event occurred on the 19th of January, 
1782. On the 17th of April following, he was admitted as 
counselor. He was then twenty-six years of age. 

He took an office in Albany, began the practice of the law, 
and seems almost immediately to have been immersed in busi- 
ness. He had acquired celebrity in the State as a soldier, and 
no man of his years had a wider circle of acquaintance among 
the class who indulge in profitable suits at law. The old Tory 
lawyers, who had enjoyed all the best business, before the 
Revolution, were now thrown out of the ranks of the profes- 
sion by an act of the legislature, and "Whig lawyers of any 
standing or promise were, at the moment, extremely few. 
Burr's engaging manner, distinguished origin, indefatigable 
devotion to business, and honorable fame, would, in any circum- 
stances, have rendered his advancement in the profession cer- 
tain and rapid. But in the actual state of things, they obtained 
for him in a very few months as profitable a business as was 
enjoyed by any lawyer in the State. Before he had been in 
practice three months, he felt so sure of his position and so 
satisfied with his prospects, that there seemed no longer any 
necessity for delaying his marriage. 

That Colonel Burr, the most rising young man in the State 
of New York, handsome, fascinating, well-born; and famous, 
Avhose addresses few maidens in the country would have been 
inclined to repulse, should have chosen to marry a widow ten 
years older than himself, with two rollicking boys (one of 
them eleven years old), with precarious health, and no great 
estate, M'as a circumstance which seems to have been incom- 
prehensible to his friends at the time, as it has since proved a 



ADMISSION TO THE B A K , A ^ i^ Al A U R I A G E . 135 

puzzle to the writers of biocjrapliical gossip. Upon the theory 
that Burr was the artful devil he has been said to be, all 
whose ends and aims were his own advancement, no man can 
explain such a marriage. Before the Revolution he had re- 
liised, 2)oint-blank, to address a young lady of fortune, whom 
his uncle, Tliaddeus Burr, incessantly urged upon his atten- 
tion. During the Revolution he was on terms of intimacy 
with all the great families of the State — the Clintons, the Liv- 
ingstons, the Schuylers, the Van Rensselaers, and the rest ; 
alliance with either of whom gave a young man of only aver- 
age abilities, immense advantages in a State which was, to a 
singular extent, under the dominion of great fimilies. But no 
considerations of this kind could break the spell which drew 
him, with mysterious power, to the cottage at remote and 
rural Parainus. 

The lady was 72ot beautiful. Besides being past her prime, 
she was slightly disfigured by a scar on her forehead. It was 
the graceful and winning manners of Mrs. Prevost that first 
captivated the mind of Colonel Burr. She was, indeed, in all 
respects, an estimable lady, affectionate, accomplished, well- 
versed in literature, and as much given to the practice as 
averse to the profession of piety. But it was in her character 
of LADY and woman of the world that she proved so irresist- 
ably pleasing to him on their first acquaintance. He used, in 
after years, to say, that in style and manners, she was without 
a peer among all the women he had known, and that if his 
own manners were in any respects superior to those of men in 
general, it was owing to the insensible influence of hers. The 
reader may, perhaps, have observed that young men of spirit 
and intelligence, who have been brought up in the severe, un 
gracious way of the stricter Puritans, are sometimes too keenly 
susceptible of the charm of manner, and are apt to attach to it 
an excessive importance. 

But "a more lasting charm of this lady was her cultivated 
mind. Burr was a lover of books, a lover of pictures, a lover 
of every thing which distinguishes man from the Puritan ; and 
it was rare, indeed, in those days, to find a lady in America 
who had the kind of culture which sympathizes with such 



136 LIFE OF A A K O N B U It R , 

tastes. In Europe, women Avere only beginning to emerge 
from the gross ignorance wliich was thought to be tlieir proper 
condition ; and in America, if tliey were not ignorant, k'W 
had the knowledge interesting to a man like Burr. Among 
his own female relatives there was penetrating and brilliant in- 
tellect enougli ; but how perverted, how repressed! Some of 
the most renowned ladies of the time, with a thousand virtues, 
scarcely ever looked into a book. ]\lrs. Putnam was mighty 
at the spinning-wheel ; Mrs. Washington (as we lately leani 
from Mrs. Kiikland's })leasant pages) was a devotee of the 
knitting-needle ; and tlie wife of another famous general was 
not a little proud of her patchwork quilts, Hurr had met few 
ladies, in his earlier life, who, like JNlis. l*revost, Avere familiar 
with the most recent expressions of European intellect, who 
could talk intelligently with him about Voltaire, Rousseau, 
and Chesterfield, and could ai)preciate those anthors with- 
out beconiing their disciples. It was not mere compliment, 
wheTi Burr told Mrs. Pievost that it was from knowing her 
that he had lirst learned to believe in tlie understanding of 
woman. 

The two sons of JMrs. Prevost, so far from being regarded 
by Colonel Burr as an obstacle to his marriage, were really 
an inducement to it. lie inherited his father's passion for 
training the young. He was not merely fond of children, but 
took the liveliest ]>ossibIc interest in their education. There 
was no period in all his long life when ho had not a protege 
mider training. His system of education was, indeed, with 
all its merits, and with all the pains he bestowed in applying 
\i,fatal/i/ defective; as was his own system of life. But that 
he took a most real and ardent interest and delight in the de- 
velopment of the youthful character, and spared no pains in 
promoting what he thought to be the right education of his 
proteges, there can be no doubt whatever. "With a Saxon 
moral character, Aaron Burr might have been a schoolmaster 
of unheard-of excellence — such as the world waits for. 
Nothing, indeed, was more natural to him than the tone of 
t,ho instructor. Some months before he was married he con- 



i 



ADMISSION 10 THE 13 A II, AND MARRIAGE. 137 

eludes one of liis letters to Mrs. Prevost in language which 
iJltistratos what I mean: 

" Yon wrote me too much by Dom. I hope it was not from 
a fear tliat I should })e dissatisfied Avith less. It is, I confess, 
rather singular to find fault with the quantity, when matter 
nd manner are so d(!lightful. You must, however, deal less 
n sentiments, and more in ideas. Indeed, in the letter in an- 
swer to my last, you will need to he i)articularly attentive to 
this injunction. I think constantly of the approaching change 
in our affairs, and what it demands. Do not let us, like chil- 
dren, bo so taken with the prospect as to lose sight of the 
means. Ilemember to write me facts and ideas, and don't 
torment me with com[)liments, or yourself with sentiments to 
which I am already no stranger. Write but little, and very 
little at once." 

In another letter he recommends her to buy one of the new 
Fraidclin stoves, and suggests the room in which it should be 
])laced. After enlarging, in a style not common in love let- 
ters, upon the various good qualities of the stoves, and tell- 
ing hei' that, as her I'll, 1 1(; boy would be certain to burn liim- 
S(;lf at least once with it, it might Ix; best to tea(;h him the 
danger by slightly burning him, he concludes as follows : 

"I confess I have still some transient distriists that vou set 
too little value on your own lile and comfort. Remember, it 
is not yours alone ; but your letters shall convince me. I 
waive the subject. I am not certain I shall be regularly punc- 
tual in writing you in this manner every day when I get at 
business; but I shall, if possible, devote ones quarter of an 
hour a day to you. In return, I demand one half of an hour 
every day fi'om you ; more I forbid, unless on special occasions. 
This half hour is to be mine, to be invariably at the same 
lim(^, and, for that purpose, fixed at an hour least liable to 
interruption, and as you shall find most convenient. Mine 
can not bo so regular, as I only iiululge myself in it when I 
am fatigued with business. The children will have each their 
sheet, and, at the given hour, write, if but a single word. 
Burr, at tliis half hour, is to be a kind of watchword," 

While Burr was preparing for his examination, his slave 



138 LIFE OP AARON BURK. 

Carlos was going very frequently between Paramns and Al- 
bany, bearing letters and gifts. Plis letters were mostly in 
the decisive, commanding manner of the extracts just given, 
though sufficiently tender and considerate. A notorious ca- 
lumniator has recently, in a work of great pretensions, insin- 
uated that Colonel Burr, during this winter in Albany, lived 
on terms of scandalous intimacy with his landlady. The state- 
ment is false. Soon after his arrival in Albany, Burr was 
called upon by Mr. Van Rensselaer, the head of the distin- 
guished family of that name. The two young men soon be- 
came intimate. Van Rensselaer was dissatisfied with Burr's 
lodgings, and in a spirit of friendliness and hospitality olfered 
to find him better. Burr soon wrote to Mrs. Prevost that 
Van Rensselaer had succeeded perfectly to his wish. " I am 
with two maiden aunts of his," he said, " obliging and (in- 
credible !) good-natured, the very paragons of neatness. Not 
an article of furniture, even to a tea-kettle, that would soil a 
muslin handkerchief. I have two upper rooms." In these 
apartments it was that he daily wrote such words as the fol- 
lowing to a lady with whom he was anticipating a speedy 
marriage : " Though I write very little, it is still half my 
business ; for whenever I find myself either at a loss what to 
do, or any how discomposed or dull, I fly to these sheets, 
and even if I do not write, I ponder upon it, and in this 
way sacrifice many hours without reflecting that time passes 
away." 

On the 2d of July, 1'782, by the Rev. David Bogart, of the 
Reformed Dutch church, Aaron Burr and Theodosia Prevost 
were married. They were forthwith established in an ample 
residence at Albany, where Colonel Bun- relieved the monot- 
ony of business by assisting in the education of the two boys. 
One of the first uses he made of his new dignity of house- 
holder was to give a temporary home to a friend who Avas in 
love, and had a project of marriage which it was necessary 
for some reason to conceal. That friend was the well-known 
Major Popham, who was married at Colonel Burr's house, and 
who, fifty-four years after, held the pall which covered Burr's 
ro'nains as they were borne to the grave. 



4.DMISSI0N TO THE BAB, AND MARRIAGE. 139 

Carlos made no more hixrried journeys to Pararaus. The 
charm of the " Plermitage" had departed from it. It may in- 
terest some readers to learn that traditions of the old house, 
and of the family who inherited it, still exist in the vicinity. 
Some of the walls of the house are standing, and serve as part 
of a modern structure. Some relics of its elegant contents, a' 
picture, among other things, adorn a neighboring tavern. 
Stories of the grand company that used to assemble at the 
Hermitage are vaguely told by ther older inhabitants; and 
descendants of Mrs. Prevost reside a few miles from the old 
estate, in an elegant abode, which contains interesting memo- 
rials of the olden time. 

At Albany, in the first year of his marriage, was born Col- 
onel Burr's only legitimate child, a daughter, whom he named 
Theodosia. She had a joyful welcome into the world, the 
beautiful child who was to have so terrible an exit from it. 
A father, ever fond, if not ever wise, received to his arms the 
infant Avho was to be to him so much more than a daughter, 
when her indomitable fidelity was all that linked him to the 
family of man. 

Colonel Burr practiced law in Albany for more than eight- 
een months, with the greatest success possible in the circum- 
stances of the time. As soon as peace was declared, he made 
arrangements for removing to New York. A house was hired 
for him in Maiden Lane, at two hundred pounds a year, the 
" rent to commence when the troops leave the city." That 
event, as New Yorkers are still annually reminded by parades 
and festivities, occurred on the 25th of November, 1783 ; soon 
after which date Colonel Burr removed his family to the city 
and began his career as a New York lawyer. 

The preparatory period of Coloael Burr's life was now com- 
pletely j)ast. As a finished man and practiced lawyer he en- 
ters upon the new scene to contend with his equals for the 
honors of his profession and the prizes of society. Up to the 
present time his character and conduct have appeared only 
in an honorable light, because only the qualities in which he 
really excelled have been exhibited — his courage, his activity, 
his generosity, his address. John Adams testifies of him that 



140 LIFE OF AAKON BUKK. 

he came out of the revolutionary Avar " with the character of 
a knight, without fear, and an able officer," and tlie fact that 
so many excellent and discerning gentlemen admiied and 
loved him, and that so many amijible ladies were his friends, 
is confirmatory of the assertion, I am convinced that society 
had nothing serious to charge him with up to the time of his 
joining the bar of this city. I am sure he had not been 
" protligate." The probabilities are in favor of the opinion 
that he had not yet liad one amour of a crin\inal kind, nor in- 
curred an obligation which he had not discharged. 

It is important to bear this in mind, for the instructive and 
impressive moral of his story depends upon its truth. They 
who desci'ibe good men to be faultless, and bad men as devils, 
rob mankind of the benefit of their example. The good ex-- 
ample discourages, and the bad one does not alarm us. We 
despair of imitating the one, and are not in the least afraid of 
coming to resemble the other. But Mhen a good man is truly 
delineated, every one sees the simplicity and attainableness of 
goodness, and how many faults a man may have, and yet his 
character be essentially just and noble. How encouraging 
this to a youth who has sense enough to be conscious of his 
fiiults, and who aspires to emulate the sublime characters of 
history. So of bad men. When their characters are trnly 
drawn, we are more likely to be surprised at the number of 
good quairties they possessed, than horrilied at their bad ones. 
And this is, in truth, of all the facts in the case, the most ap- 
palling ! That a man may be so good, and yet not good ; 
that he may come so near excellence, and yet so fatally miss 
it ; that he may be so little removed in moral quality from 
many who pass the ordeal of life with little reproach, and yet 
incur so deep a damnation — these are the facts which move 
and scare us when we know aright and fully tlie men who 
figure in history as atrocious characters. Carlyle's delinea- 
tion of Robespierre is the finest example, iKTha})S, of this cor- 
rect portrayal of a bad man's ehar;icter that has been given to 
the world. The frightened reader, as he closes the awful 
Btory, has no maledictions for the wretched tyrant ; but sigh- 
ing, says, " /, too, might have been a liobespierre." 



ADMISSION TO THU BAR, AND MAKRIAGK. 141 

Youth is the lovely robe beneath whicli the eliaracter is 
coiK-ealed while it tbrms ; or it is the ilower which jjreeedes 
the ti-uit, and which is often as beaiitirul on the tree that is 
going to bear ill fruit, or none, as upon that which will yellow 
the plain with its abundant golden showers. 



CHAPTER X. 

AT THE NEW YORK BAR. 
New York in 1783 — JonN Adams's Impressions of the City — The Different 

KINDS OF LaWYBRS — BURIl'S QtTALITY AND IIaBITS AS A LAWYER — ANECDOTES^ 

Hamilton and Burr at the Bar — Emoluments of the Bar tiusn — The Tastes 
AND Home of Burr — Scenes at Richmond Hill. 

Colonel Burr had removed to what we should now call a 
Bmall town. 

From 1722, when Jonathan Edwards had been accustomed 
to go out beyond the suburbs of New York to the banks of 
"Hudson's river," and medilalc Avilh ecstacy upon the deep 
things of his theology, to 1783, \vhen his grandson moved 
down from Albany to his fme house in Maiden Lane, to prac- 
tice law in the liberated city, was a period of sixXty-one years, 
during Avhich New York had increased in population from 
eight thousand to twenty-iive thousand. It was the second 
city in the United States, Pluladelphia having a population 
nearly twice as numerous. The State of New York, at that 
time, had less than three hundred thousand inhabitants, about 
a third of the number Avhich now the city alone contains. In 
the year 1800, the city could only number sixty thousand in- 
habitants, and the State about half a million. The contract- 
edness of Burr's sphere of labor it is necessary to bear in 
mind. 

When John Adams made his triumphal progress from Bos- 
ton to Philadelphia to attend the lirst Congress, he stopped a 
few days in New York, which he then saw for the first time, 
and described in his Diary. He says that he walked to every 
part of the city in one afternoon, and after seeing every thing 
in it worthy of a stranger's attention, Avent to the Coffee 
House and read the newspapers. His remarks, however, indi- 



A T T H B N B W Y O R K B A R . 143 

cate tlio wcnltlv of the city. Tie Hpcaks of tlio elegant coniitry 
seats on the itsland ; of the Broad Way, a fhie street, very wide, 
and in a right line from one end to the other of the city ; of 
the raagnilicent new church then building, which was to cost 
twenty thousand pounds ; of the new hospital, a line structure 
of stone ; of a ship-yard, Avhere a Dutch East India ship of 
eight hundred tons was building; of the " beautifid ellipsis of 
land, railed in with solid iron, in the center of which is a 
statue of his majesty on horseback, very large, of solid lead, 
gilded with gold, on a pedestal of marble, very high." The 
Greets of the town, he adds, are " vastly more regular and 
elegant than those in Boston, and the houses are more grand, 
as well as ueat. They are almost all painted, brick buildings 
and all." 

In Iho course of a day or two, the observant and plain- 
spoken patriot had an opportunity of seeing the interior of 
one of the elegant country seats, near " Hudson's river." 
From what he says of the sumptuosity of his entertainment, 
we may infer that then, as now, the New Yorkers were pro- 
fuse and ostentatious in their style of living. "A more ele- 
gant breakfast, I never saw," he writes ; " rich plate, a very 
large silver coifee-pot, a very large silver tea-pot, najikins of 
the very fmest materials, toast, and bread and butter, in great 
perfection. After breakfast, a plate of beautiful peaches, 
another of pears, and a muskmelon, were placed on the 
table." Napkins and silver plate, in 1774, were rare luxu- 
ries in all but the very highest circles of European nobility. 
The rich furniture of the New York houses excited the con- 
thuial wonder of the honest Bostonian ; but the people of the 
city pleased him not. " With all the opulence and sjilendor 
of this city," says he, " there is very little good-breeding to 
bo fouiul. We have been treated with an assiduous respect 
but I have not seen one real gentleman, one well-bred man, 
since I came to town. At their entertainments there is no 
conversation that is agreeable ; there ia no modesty, no atten- 
tion to one another. They talk very loud, very fast, and 
all together. If they ask you a question, before you can utter 
three words of your auswei', they will break out upon you 



144 LIFE OF AARON BUKR. 

again, and talk away." Xcw York strikes the Bostonian of 
to-day very much as it did Jolin Adams in 1774. 

The RevoUition did not essentially change the character of 
the place, nor, as I conjecture, much retard its progress in 
wealth. But when the British troops evacuated the city, many 
of the wealthiest Tory families, all the British othcials, anil, 
ndecd, most of those who had been regarded as the " society," 
of the town went with them, leaving it more exclusively a 
commercial city than it was. When we read in the letters 
and memoirs of the time allusions to the fascination of Colonel 
Burr's manners, and of the great things he accomplished 
merely by the charm of his address, Ave should, perhaps, at- 
tribute part of the eifects to the general absence of personal 
style iu the people. The honest, kindly, unornamental class 
of men were those over whom his sway was most absolute ; 
and it was iu a bustling, trading town, that he ran the brilliant 
part of his career. 

Nor had he many competitors for the higher business of 
his profession. The history of the American bar remains 
miwritten, though the subject, to a writer able to handle it, 
presents unrivaled capabilities. We are left, therefore, to 
conjecture the strength of the legal profession when Burr rose 
to eminence in it. John Adams, in the part of his anmsing 
Diary just referred to, speaks of two or three lawyers in the 
city to whom he was introduced, and whom he mentions as 
persons of importance. One of the handsome houses that 
adorned '' the Broad Way," was pointed out to him as the 
residence of the famous lawyer " Mr. Smith," and it was Mr. 
Scott, " an eminent lawyer," whose " very large silver tea-pot" 
and "very large silver coftee-pot," excited Mr. Adams's aston- 
ishment. It is very evident that the law was a lucrative and 
important profession in New York before the Revolution. It 
is equally certain that the disfranchisement of all the Tory law- 
yers, and the complicated suits growing out of the laws con- 
Iscating the estates of Tories, gave to an able and active 
a wycJr, just after the Revolution, a most productive tield of 
exertion. Aaron Burr was a man to improve such an oppoi- 
tunity. He came here a practiced lawyer. His name and 



AT THE NEW Y O li K BAH. 145 

lineage were of vast use to him. The meinoiy of President 
]>inr was fragrant in the adjacent States ; and wherever men 
and worn(!n in those days were trying to live nobly, the name 
of Jonathan Edwards was a name of power, a name honoiable 
and august. Hamilton and Adams both testify that, as well 
in politics as in law, the celebrity of Burr's father and grand- 
father contributed powerfully to his early success. Yet in 
l!it(n- times we often find other leading federalists sneering at 
him as a man without coimections ; and nothing could more 
clearly prove the ignorance Avhich prevailed in that party of 
the country they aspired to govern. As New England under- 
stood the word, no man had such connections as he. Scarcely 
a family in that country but would have esteemed it an honor 
to receive under their roof the "descendant of Jonathan Ed- 
wards and President I>urr. 

Colonel Burr came to New York, apparently, with no inten- 
tion to take any part in p)olitic8. As soon as the British had 
left the city, there was high excitement among the leading 
citizens relative to the oftlces wliieh were to be filled. The 
State government had been organized long ago, and George 
Clinton was governor. But the city, remaining in the posses- 
sion of the enemy, had deprived the governor of his choicest 
patronage, which now was to be bestowed, all at once, upon 
l(;ng-cxpectant Whigs. Some influential friends at Albany, 
who had a great opinion of Colonel Burr's talents for the dis- 
patch of business, urged him to apply for an appointment in 
the city. He said, in reply, that he was unwilling to be a 
competitor with any gentleman for an office. Then, said 
Judge Bogai't, you must be contented with the character of a 
private gentleman, for there are long lists of applicants for all 
the offices in the city and county' of New York. And a pri- 
vate gentleman he remained. The steps by which he was 
gradually drawn from the exclusive pursuit of his profession 
to mingle in jjolitical strife, will be narrated in a subsequent 
chapter. It is convenient novv to regard him only as a lawyer, 
in which chai'acter he chiefly presents himself during the flrst 
eight years of his residence in New York. True, he served 
for two sessions, those of 1784 and 1785, in the State legisla- 

7 



140 LIFE OF AAKON BURR. 

tuve ; but he attended the chamber only at important crises. 
From 1783 until 1791, the practice of the law absorbed the 
greater part of his time and attention. lie Avas an ambitious 
man, then as always. But, until the formation of the general 
government in 1789, what was there in politics to excite desire 
in a man of ability ? 

Aaron Burr, a soldier by nature, a lawyer from necessity, 
was the same man at the bar as he had been in the held, and 
conducted a suit precisely on the principles which he had ap- 
plied to the capture of a fort, and the defense of the West- 
chester lines. 

Lawyers may, perhaps, be divided into three classes. To 
the first belong the great souls, who love justice, and who love 
law as the means by which justice is done. Of such lawyers, few 
everywhere, the American bar can "boast, at least, its fixir pro- 
portion. The second class comprises the majority of prac- 
titioners, whose single consideration it is to serve their clients 
by all the means which the bar stamps legitimate. If they 
triumph, it is well, whether justice triumphs with them or 
Dot, whether their triumph is due to a recognized legal trick, 
or to a right interpretation of the law. The third class are 
simply unscrupulous. They hang upon the outskirts of the 
profession and prey upon its oftal. It is their trade to assist, 
to protect, and to deliver villains. To be a lawyer of the first 
description, and to excel in it, demands a broad, comprehen- 
Bive, noble understanding. The second class requires a quick, 
acute intellect, tact, adroitness, self-possession, and great phys- 
ical stamina, together with a certain moral obtuseness, which 
enables a man to do in his professional, what he would not do 
in his private capacity. Tiie third kind of lawyer is merely a 
(Scoundrel, cunning enough to obtain the rewards of crime 
without incurring its risks. 

To a place among the greatest lawyers, Aaron Burr has no 
title. He had not weight of metal enough for that. He was 
a light person ; tough, clastic, polislu'd, penetrating, a perfect 
rapier, not a broadsword ; successful, while he did ia])ier's 
work, failing when a heavier blade was needed in his place. 
As a lawyer of the second grade, as a inere practitioner at the 



AT TIIK NEW YORK BAR. 147 

hai\ I pvesnine his eqnal never lived. In his hands, the law 
Avas a whole armory of weapons, in the use of which, as 
weapons, his daring was only equaled by his skill. 

In preparing his causes for trial, he was simply indefatigable. 
While there was an authority to be examined, while there 
Avas evidence to be procured, while there was an expedient to 
bo devised, his eiforts wore never relaxed. And he gave no 
rest to his adversary, pursuing him with notices, motions, and 
ai)poals, improving every advantage, and exhausting all the 
means of annoyance ; until, from very weariness and despair, 
sometimes, the enemy has ca])itulatcd. Colonel Burr not only 
labored himself to the uttermost of the powers of man, but he 
had the ai't of exacting from his assistants an equal diligence. 
There was no resisting his requirements. Assistant-counsel 
would receive notes from him at midnight, when they were 
asleep, demanding instant replies, which obliged the drowsy 
moil of law to refer to authorities and examine papers. On 
the day of trial, he had his evidence, argiunents, an<l author- 
ities, marshaled in impenetrable array. Every possibility had 
been provided for. No man at the bar could ever boast of 
discovering a flaw in his preparation, or of carrying a point 
against him by surprise. 

Where no amount of legitimate preparation would avail, he 
had no scruples to employing a legal rase. Indeed he delight- 
ed to surprise his adversary, to lay an ambuscade for him, and 
carry a case by an ingenious stroke before the other side could 
recover their self-possession. It is related, that, in an eject- 
ment suit to recover a valuable house in New York, the oppo- 
sing counsel had expended their wliole strength in proving 
the genuineness of a will, supposing, of course, that tliat was 
the only point susceptible of dispute. What was their surprise 
to find, that Burr's main atta(;k was against the authenticity 
of an ancient deed, one of the links in the title, which, having 
never belbre been disputed, had been provided with merely 
formal proof! Tlie jury pronounced the deed a forgery, and 
Burr's client lived and died in possession of the proj)erty. 
Two coiu-ts have since pronounced the deed authentic. 

No means were too trival for him to employ, if he thought 



1-iS HFK OF AARON BURK. 

thorn likoly to promote l\is jMirpose. He used to say that ho 
h;id oiioe saved a man tVom bein>>' hanoed bv a eertain aviiiiiire- 
ineiit of tlie eaud'os in a eourt room, lie referred to n trial 
for murder, in whieh both Hamilton and himself detendeil the 
prisoner, ;ind wliieh exeiled intense interest at tlie lime. At 
first, the evidonee iviiainst the prisoner seemetl eonelnsive, and, 
1 think, Uurr himsi>lf tluniu,-ht him o-nilty. l->nt as the trial 
proeeeded, snspieions arose against, tlie principal witness. 
Colonel Hurr snljeeted him to a relenth'ss eross-examination, 
and he beeame eonvineed that the guilt lay between the wit- 
ness and the luisouor, witli the balaneo of probability against 
the witness. 

The man's appearanee nnd be.iring wei"e most unpre|>os- 
sessing. Besides being remarkably ugly, he had the mean, 
dotrn look, whieh is assoeiated with tiie timidity ol' guilt. 
Hamilton had Jiddressed the jury witli his usual llucnt elo- 
ipienee, eoutining his remarks to the vindieatii>n of the ]>ris- 
ouer, without allnding to the probable guilt of the witness. The 
{>roseeiiting attorney replied, and it was now Hurr's province 
to say the lasi word i'ov the prisoner. Ibit the day iiad wern 
away, and the court took a recess till eaiuUe light. This was 
extremelv annoving to Oolonel Burr, as he meditated enacting 
1 little scene, to the success of which a sti'ong light was iiulis- 
oensable. He was not io be balked, however. Through i)ne 
of his satellites, oC whom he always had several revolving 
ariumd hiiu, he caused an extra muuluM- oi' candles to be 
hrought into the conrt-rooju, and to be so arranged as to 
throw a strong light upon a certain pillar, in lidl view of the 
jury, against which the suspected witness had leaneil through- 
out the trial. The court assembled, the man resuuied Ins ac- 
eustouuHl place, and Colonel Burr rose. AVith the clear con- 
ciseness ot' which he was master, lie set forth the facts which 
bore against the man, and then, seizing two candelabras from 
the table, he held them uj) toward him, throwing a glare o[' 
light upon his face, and exclainuHl, 

"Behold the munlerer, gentlemen I" 

Every eye was turned upon the wretch's ghastly counte- 
nance, which, to the excited multitude, seemed to wear the 



AT rill', N n; \v Y () It K It Alt. 149 

very expression oC ;i coiivictcil rmiivleror. The iiwiii reeled, 
JiH thoiif^li lic! liail heeii struck; I lien sliriiiil< iiwiiy heliiml llio 
c.rdwd, Jllld nislied rroni I lie rodiii. 'I'lie elleel, al' iJiis ineideiit, 
W.MS deeisi\'e. ('oloiicl I >(iir eoiKtliidrd his s|m cell, l-lii^ Jh'IkO 
(•h;u^t'd, the jury j^.'ive .'i V(!rdic,|; of .'uupiiLUil, .'iiid the prisoner 
V;is I'ree. 

A niHo which Ik! once pliiycMJ on ( Jeiier.il I I;i,inill,oii, lliirr r(!- 
i;ite(l to ;i le^iil I'neiid, who lold it tome. It occurred curly 
in his pr.'icticc ivt tJui N((W York h:ir, when lie ;ind II;unili,oii 
were in the lirst Hush oi' MiiccuHS, and neither was (lisposcHl to 
concede superiority to tlu! other, liotli W(M'(i ('n<^u;jj(Ml, (or 
tli(( lirst time, on tlu; Humo side of an imporlant cause, and it 
was a, (|uestion which of iiio two hIiouM lirst address iJie jury. 
The eti(|u<'tt(^ ol" th(( liar assii^'iiH the elosint^ speech to tim 
leader of a, caiiso, hut it was not clear in tliiH caHc who wah 
th(( leader. I lamilton, who was c(!rl,aiiily not tin ((xc(!ssiv(;ly 
modest man, hinted, in a rather utiLjracious mamu!!", as l>urr 
tJionnliI, thai his friend ('oloiu^l ISiirr would open tiie a.rfz,'U- 
meiit. With tJial, iinpcrtiirhalde polit<'iiess that iiev<'r forsook 
him, r.iirr assenteil to the arraii^i'ineiit witJioiit, a word of (di- 
jeet.ion. He waH iH^ttUid, howeviM-, and hit upon a, littlo 
seheiiK" of liarridess revenue. II(! knew well fJie e,ha,ra<'.t('r of 
Ilaniilton'H mind, :iiid, from re[ieated <M)nv(U'sation.s with him 
on tJiii cause in which they wore «ntja/^(Ml, lio knciw (!V(iry 
point wlii<'h Hamilton would he likely to niaki; in his speech. 
Kiirr prepared himself with ;jfreat cwir(!. VVIkmi he (Vimo at 
leiit;tli t,o address the jury, liesides usinyj his own arifunients, 
he anticipated all of llainiltoii's. He ahsoliiti^ly exhausted tluj 
case. There; was nolhinu,' left for I lamilton to advance. The 
(!onse(|Ueiice was that that <i'eiitlemaii appeared to iiiucli.l(!Sf4 
udvanta^fc than usual, and ncvctr.aftorward exhihitcMJ an imdiio 
desire to assuiiu; the place of lionor in suits which lie con 
diu^tcid conjointly with (Jolotu!! Burr. 

A few of iJuri's maxiniH rospoctiiii^ the practitui of the law 
have been preserved. His Harcastic definition of la,w, as dealt 
out hy courts, has liecn often (pioteij to his disailvantaj^o. 
" Law," said he, "is whatever is boldly assertcn! and plausibly 
maini allied. " Whether the HarcuHin ia, or was dc'servc<l, let 



150 LIFE OP AARON BUBR. 

lawyers decide. Another of his sayings related to the man- 
agement of a case, after the enemy had proposed to capitulate. 
Until that point was reached, he was for giving them no rest. 
But when a projDosition for compromise had been received, he 
would say, " Now move slowly, never negotiate in a hurry." 
But the best of all his observations, at least, the most strik- 
ing and novel, was the following: "There is a maxim," said 
he, " ' Never put off till to-morrow what you can do to-day.' 
This is a maxim for sluggards. A better reading of it is, 
Never do to-day what you can as well do to-morrow / because 
something may occur to make you regret your premature ac- 
tion." He used also, to say, that the art of using men con- 
sisted in placing each in the position he was best fitted for ; 
a version of the recent phrase, " The right man for the right 
place." 

He showed nnequaled tact himself in placing his men. 
Before selecting his assistants in a cause, he would ascei'tain 
and carefully calculate all the opposing influences — j^rejudice, 
interest, indifference, ignorance, political, local, and family 
feeling — and choose the men likeliest to combat them with 
effect. If there was a cranh in the mind of a judge, he 
would find the hand that could turn it to his advantage. If 
there was a prejudice in the mind of a jury, he would con- 
trive, by some means, to bring it to bear in favor of his cli- 
ent. If learning and eloquence were essential, he would 
enlist their aid also. But his forte was in playing upon 
the amiable weaknesses of human nature. Above these, the 
great man lifts his hearers ; for the time, makes them noble 
and reasonable ; and while they are so, convinces them. To 
Aaron Burr this majestic kind of mastery over men was not 
given. 

As in the battle-field, so in the crises of a suit, his compos- 
ure was perfect. The most unexpected event could not star- 
tle him. One day, as he and two other lawyers were arguing, 
in the court of chancery, a case in which he appeared for a 
very intimate friend of many years' standing, and in which he 
himself had an interest, a letter was handed him by a messen- 
e;er. Apologizing, and requesting the lawyers to proceed in 



AT THE NEW YORK BAR. 161 

their debate, he opened the letter, read it carefully, and then, 
quite in his usual manner, refolded it, and laid it on the table 
with the address downward. The discussion proceeded for 
bout ten minutes longer. Colonel Burr listened with his 
usual attention, and, when a pause occurred, asked in his gen- 
tlest and quietest tone, as if merely to solve a legal doubt 
which had casually risen in his mind, " What effect would 
the death of my client have on the suit?" The lawyers 
started, and eagerly inquired his reason for asking. " He is 
dead," replied Burr, " as I learn from this letter ; will the 
suit abate ?" 

From the strictness of his practice, he has been called a 
legal martinet. He asked no favors, and granted none. He 
detied an opponent to catch him tripping, and he never failed 
to subject his opponent's argument to just such treatment as 
he had taken infinite pains to guard his own against. So fond 
was he of the technicalities of the law, that occasionally he 
indulged in them to the detriment of his client. At the same 
time, no man was more observant of the proper courtesies of 
the bar ; like a true knight, all complaisance, till the lists were 
joined, and the signal given for the fight ; then the time had 
come for hard blows and rapid thrusts. 

Burr valued himself little upon his oratorical powers, and 
he used to say that he had seldom spoken with pleasure or 
satisfaction to himself. His pleadings at the bar were more 
in the style of conversation than oratory, it is said ; the con- 
versation, however, of a well-bred, thoroughly-informed man 
of the world. He never declaimed. He was never diffuse ; 
a long speech he never delivered in his life. In concise, pre- 
cise, and, therefore, simple language, he contrived to clothe 
the essential points of his argument, and to lodge them in the 
mind of judge and jury so firmly that no bursts of eloquence 
from the other Side could remove them. There was a vein of 
quiet saYcasra in some of his speeches, which, it is said, wa 
exceedingly effective. With a manner always serious, he occa- 
sionally rose to be impressive, and produced effects upon the 
minds of his hearers that were long remembered. It is cer- 
tain, from the writings of the time, that he was regarded as 



152 LIFTi: oil' AARON RTTllR. 

a gfoat speaker ; as u'reat in liis way as General ITamiltou was 
in his ; ami it was oaid tliat the extremely interesting charac- 
ter of Burr's speeches, no less than their conciseness, made it 
dinicult to report them, The courtliness of his maimer, the 
air of perfect breedim:,- that invested him, and the siui^ular 
comj)osure of his bearinp:, all contributed, doubtless, to the 
ctlect of his public addresses. From the traditions still pre- 
served in old Presbyterian families respecting the clotpuMu-e' 
of President Burr, T infer that the son's style of speaking was 
extremely like that oi' the iather. 

To Alexander Hamilton, his friend and rival. Colonel Burr 
freely conceded the palm of eloquence, lie did justice to the 
powers of that abli^ man, with whom he contended for the 
honors o\' his profession and tl>e prizes of public life, for 
twenty years. To the strength and fertility of l.IamilttMrs 
imagination, to his lino rhetorical }>owers, to his occasional 
llashes of poetical genius, and to the force of his declamation. 
Colonel Burr paid the tribute oi' admiratitui. The two nuai 
were antagtmists by na(ur(>; but, during these happy years, 
each had a high, if not an exaggerated opinion oi' the other's 
talents. 

An aged member (>f the bar described to me the manner of 
the two men in their public aildresses. Hamilton's way was 
to ca'Jhiu at a case; giving ample statement to every point ; 
antici[)ating every objection ; saying every tlung that could 
fairly be said in the t'ullest manner. He would sj>eak for two 
or three hours, enchaining the attention of comt and jury by 
his tluent and, sonietimes, lotVy eloquence. Burr, in replying, 
■would select two or three vulnerable, yet vital points of Ham- 
ilton's speech, atul quietly demolish then\, and leave all the 
other parts of his oration untouched. In a twenty minutes' 
sjHHH'h, he has been known com})letely to neutralize the etVect 
of one of Ilaniilton's elaborate and ornate addresses. Burr 
began practice upon the principle of never mulertaking a cause 
which he did not feel sure oi' gaining ; and I am assured by 
another venerable lawyer oi' this city, who was frequently 
engaged with Burr, that he never in his life lost a case 
which he personally conducted. It is, at least, cert;nn. 



A T T ri K N 10 VV Y O It K It A It . 1 r^.i 

t.liitl, Iio pj.'iined over TrntiiiUoii souk; siL;ii;iI :iii(I imoxpoctcd 
triiiin|)lis.* 

On Iiis arrival in Now York, Colonol Burr H(uirriH, ;il, once;, 
to have laUcii liis |»Ia(!e aiiioiioj tlio UiadorH of (Ik; har, ami lu! 
vol allied that po.sitioii for nearly a (|uarter ol'a (leiitury, tlioiij^h, 
(Iniinij that period, the bar of New Y»rk trobUid its ininibers. 
With tlu! single ox(',(!])tioii ol" Hamilton, no lawyer in the State 
lu'Id HO high a position as ho, and nono in tiio country held a 
hiL^her. 

With regard to tlu^ iiicoino derivable from tlio praetico of 
the law at that time, it is diflicult to olitain iiiCormalion. At 
th(! present day, a lawyer is ooiisider(!d to be in good [)ra('.tico 
who has a clear gain of four thousand dollars a year. Ten 
tlioiisand dollars is thought a very large rcweiiue : it is (pies- 
tionabh^ if there •,\rv. one huiidreil lawyers in tin; ITiiitiMl States 
who earn so iiiueh. An (vmnuje. incotne of twenty thousand 
is as gr(!at as the half dozcMi lea<Iiiig lawyers of tlu; country can 
l)oast ; though, occasionally, a lawyiu- will make tliat sum by a 
single case, or even twice; as nnieli. In early times, prof(!S- 
sioiial incomes (;ould scarcely have been as hirgo as llu'y are 
now. Among the ]ett(!rs of Alexander Hamilton there is one 
fiom a New York iner(^liaiit, rc^taining the serviccts of Hamil- 
ton in any suits the merchant might have for iivo years. In- 
closed in tlio letter was a note for a thousand dollars, payable 
at the end of tlie live years, with interest at live per cent. 

* Cciicnil I*)ra.sl,u3 Root, wlio w.'iH woll !U'.(|ii!iiiil,(Ml with liurr in tlio lioif^lit 
of his c(^lcbrity, was witli liiin in t,lio Ans(MMl)ly ami in {Jom^^i'chm, ami ofti'n 
lioani liiiri spoak in tlio courts, f2;ivos tlio liilldwiii;^ opiuio^i of tlio powiTsof tluj 
two iiiiii: " As a lawyor a,ii(l as u scholar IJurr waH not inil'rior 1,o llaniilU)ri. 
lliH roaHoninif j)ow<U'h woro at loast oepial. 'riioir 'inoiks ol' aixninciit woro 
very dillbront, Hamilton was vory dill'uso an<l wordy. 1 1 i.s words were so 
woll c^liosiwi, and lii.s HiMitoiuuis so llnoly torinod into a, Hwolliiif? cnrroiit, that 
tlin hoarcr wonld bo (taptivatod. Tho listener would admire, if ho was not 
convliToed. liurr'.s arg'amoutH wore gonorally nii'thodized and ciiiiipact. I 
used to say of them, when they wero rivals at tin.' hai', that I'urr wonld say as 
much in Jialf ail hour as ifamilton in two hours. liurr was torso and (-on- 
vineiiifi;, while Hamilton was (lowing' and rapiinous. 'I'hoy wero niucli tho 
{greatest men hi this Stat'!, and perhaps tho greatOBt men in tho Uiiitod 
States." — Hammond's Ilist.nry a/ rolUical Parties in the. State of New York. 



154 LIFE OF AAKON UUKR. 

Upon the lottor is nn imlovsement, in ILuuilton's liand, to the 
oi\\\'\ tlint the note had been '■'■ refunivd, (r.s- ?>t'//?<; too muc^i.''^ 
Certainly the present leaders of tl>e New York bar wonM not 
take so modest a view ot'the vahie of their serviees. William 
^^ irt, ot" ^'ir^■inia, a very brilliant and sneeessful lawyer, prae- 
tieino- in the dominant State of the Union, nu>ntions, that in 
1802, he Itad an ineomo of twelve hundred pounds a year. A 
few years later, Avhile passing through Now York to try a 
eause in lH>ston, he visited some of the New York eouvts, and 
inquired res{)eetiiiu" the fees of the lawyers. He was astonished 
at their soiaf/ness, and said a Viriiinia lawver would starve on 
sueh fees. From sneh indications as these, it is perhaps safe to 
infer that Hamilton and Rurr may have had professional in- 
comes of ten thousand dollars a year, hut not more, on an 
averaiie. Bui'r used to sav that ho had made fortv thousand 
dollars from one cause, but whether it Mas as a lawyer or a 
speculator that he gained so much, is not clear. Speculation 
in lands was nuieh the rage among the leading men of the 
country during the lirst twenty years atler the Revolution, and 
110 one was fonder of that tiiscinating game than Burr. Fre- 
.piently he united, in his land transactions, the characters of 
lawyer and ot^ speculator, receiving lands in payment for pro- 
fessional services, and then disposing of them to the best ad- 
vantage he could. 

His style of living kept pace with his increasing income. 
In a tew years we find him master of Richmond Hill, the 
niansion where ^Vashington had lived in IVTC, with grounds 
reaching to the Hudson, with ample gardens, and a consider- 
able extent ot' grove and farm. Here he maintained a liberal 
establishment, and exercised the hospitality which was then in 
vogue. Talleyrand, Volney, Louis Philippe, and other strang- 
ers of distinction, whom the French Revolution drove into 
exile, were entertained with princely profusion and elegance 
at Richmond Hill. AVith Talleyrand and Volney, Rurr became 
particularly intimate. The one particular in which Richmond 
Hill surpassed the other houses of equal pretensions, was its 
librarv. Frou\ his colleofc davs. Colonel Rurr had been a 
zealous buyer of books, and his stock had gone on increasing 



n 
C 

o 
e 




ATTHK NEW YORK BAR. 155 

till, on attaining to the dignity of householder, he was able to 
give to his miscellaneous collection something of the com- 
pleteness of a library. It was customary then for gentlemen 
to have accounts with booksellers in London, and the arrival 
of the English packet was an event of interest to persons of 
taste from the literary treasures it usually brought. Colonel 
Burr was one of those who liad their London bookseller ; to 
whom he was an excellent customer. It is evident enough, 
from his correspondence, that his favorite authors were still 
those whom the '' well-constituted minds" of tliat day regarded 
with admiring horror. The volumes of Gibbon's History were 
appearing in those years, striking the orthodox world with 
wonder and dismay. They had a very hearty welcome in the 
circle at Richmond Ilill, Colonel Burr read them, and often, 
while absent from home at some distant court, reminds his wife 
of their excellence, and urges her to study tliem with care. 
Indeed, Gibbon was an author quite after Aaron Burr's own 
heart. 

Another name of horror, a few years later, was William 
Godwin (Charles Lamb's friend), the most amiable of the 
human species, and, one would nov} suppose, the most harm- 
less. He Avas one of those; lovei's of his kind who believe in 
man as saints once believed in God. A passionate lover of 
justice, a passionate hater of wrong, he waged a well-meant, 
ineffectual warfare against the State of Things. He held opin- 
ions respecting the Rights of Woman, Marriage and Divorce, 
and the Administration of Justice, which are peculiarly ob- 
noxious to persons of a conservative cast of character. Burr 
liked this man and his writings. In one of the letters in 
which Hamilton recounts the enormities of Burr, he says, by 
way of climax, that he had heai'd him talk rank Goduxinism! 
Of Maiy Wolstoncroft, the wife of William Godwin, Burr 
had an exquisite portrait among his ^aw pictures. 

Jeremy Bentliam was aiiother of his favorites. At a time 
when the mere name of the great Ai)OStle of Utilitarianism 
was known only to half a dozen of the most intollig(!nt minds 
on this side of the Atlantic, Colonel Biu-r was a reader of his 
works, and conceived foi- their author the highest opinion. 



156 LIFE OF AARON BURT^. 

Benthamism has had its day ; it only excites wonder in us 
now that so estimable a man should hav'e found delight in 
such dreary doctrine ; but it is certain that to be a reader of 
Benthara during the period now under consideration, was to 
be a partaker of the most advanced thought of the time. 
Benthamism was, as a great critic has remarked, " a deter- 
ininate being, what all the world, in a cowardly, half-and-half 
manner, was tending to be." " An eyeless heroism," the 
same writer styles it. Along with Burr, Albert Gallatin was 
a lover of Bentham ; and it is likely enough that Burr de- 
rived his first knowledge of Bentham through Gallatin. 

The " Edinburg Review," Scott's early poems, the Macken- 
zie's and Miss Burnett's novels, in a word, all the attractive 
literature of the day, found its way, very soon after publica- 
tion, to Richmond Hill. 

What happy years were those which Colonel Burr passed 
in the practice of the law in Xew York, before he was drawn 
into the political vortex ! His wife was full of affection and 
helpfulness, making him the happiest of men Avhile he was at 
home, and superintending, with wise vigilance, his office and 
his household when he was abroad. Her two sons were stu- 
dents at law in Colonel Burr's office, and aided him most 
essentially in the prosecution of his business. One of them 
frequently accompanied him on his journeys as an amanuensis 
and clerk, while the other represented him in the office in 
New York. Little Theodosia, a lovely, rosy-cheeked chihl, 
all grace and intelligence, was the delight of the household. 
The letters that passed between Colonel Burr and his wife, 
after they had been several years married, read like the pas- 
sionate outpourings of Italian lovers in the first month of their 
betrothal. 

Once, in telling him of the safe arrival of a packet of his 
letters, she draws an enchanting pictui-e of a happy home. It 
was just before dinner, she says, when the letters arrived, and 
the children were dispersed at various employments. " I fur- 
nished the mantelpiece with the contents of the packet. When 
dinner was served up they were called. You know the usunl 
eagerness on this occasion. They were all seated but Bai'ow, 



AT THE NEW YOEK BAR. 157 

when he espied the letters; the suri:)nse, the joy, the excla- 
mations exceed description. The greatest stoic would have 
forgot himself. A silent tear betrayed me no philosopher. A 
most joyous repast succeeded. "We talked of our happiness, 
of our first of blessings, our best of papas. I enjoyed, ray 
Aaron, the only happiness that could accrue from your ab- 
sence. It was a momentary compensation ; .the only one I 
ever experienced." Then she tells him how happy his letter 
had made her. " Your letters," she adds, " always afford me a 
singular satisfaction ; a sensation entirely my own ; this was 
peculiarly so. It wrought strangely on my mind and spirits. 
My Aaron, it was replete with tenderness ! with the most 
lively affection. I read and re-read, till afraid I should get it 
by rote, and mingle it with common ideas. Profane the sacred 
pledge ! Xo ; it shall notHBeT I will economize the boon," 

In another letter she describes the inane behavior of some 
foolish guests with Avhom the family had been bored, and tells 
him how rejoiced she Avas to observe that the children all had 
sense enough to despise them. " I really believe, my dear," 
she proceeds, " that few parents can boast of children whose 
minds are so prone to virtue. I see the reward of our assi- 
duity with inexpressible delight, with a gratitude few experi- 
ence. My Aaron, they have grateful hearts ; some circum- 
stances prove it, wdiich I shall relate to you with singular 
pleasure at your return." 

Another passage, acknowledging the arrival of letters, is 
very remarkable. It was written when they had been five 
years married. " What language," she exclaims, " can express 
the joy, the gratitude of Theodosia ? Stage after stage with- 
out a line. Thy usual punctuality gave room for every fear ; 
various conjectures filled every breast. One of our sons was 
to have departed to-morrow in quest of the best of friends 
and fathers. This morning we waited the stage with impa- 
tience. *Shrouder went frequently before it arrived ; at length 
returned — no letter. We were struck dumb with disappoint- 
ment. Bartow set out to inquire who were the passengers ; 
in a very few minutes returned exulting — a packet worth the 
treasures of the universe. Joy brightened every face; all 



168 HFK OF AAKON BUKR. 

expi'essed their past anxieties; tlieir present happiness. To 
enjoy was the lirst resnlt. Eacli made ehoiee of what they 
coukl best rehsh. Porter, sweet wine, chocohite, and sweet- 
meats made the most deH<;httiil repast that couhl be sliared 
■without thee. The servants were made to feel theh' lord icas 
icell^ are at this instant toasting- his heahli and boni'ttj'^ ; wliile 
tlie boys are obeying thy dear commands, tliy Theodosia tlies 
to speak her heartfelt joys: — her Aaron safe, mistress of the 
heart slie adores ; can she ask more ? has Heaven more to 
grant ?" 

Her letters are not all in this ecstatic strain. She talks of 
business, of books, of passing events. Catharine of Russia 
was then tilling the world with the noise of her exploits. Mrs. 
Burr Avrites : "The Empress of Russia is as successful as I 
wish her. What a glorious figure will she make on the his- 
torical pagel Can aou form an idea of a more happy mortal 
than she will be when seated on the throne of Constantinople? 
How her ambition will be gratilied ; the opposition and threats 
of Great Britain will increase her triumph. I wish I had wit 
and importance enough to write her a congratulatory letter. 
The ladies should deify her, and consecrate a temple to her 
praise. It is a diverting thought that the mighty Emperor of 
the Turks should be subdued by a woman. How enviable 
that she alone should be the avenger of her sex's wrongs for 
so many ages past. She seems to have awakened Justice, 
who appears to be a sleepy dame in the cause of injured inno- 
cence." 

Colonel Burr's replies to these warm epistles are couched 
in the lanouasie of sincere and iovous love. Before the mar- 
riage there was a certahi pereniptoriness of tone in his letters to 
her, not usual, and not quite pleasing, in the letters of a lover. 
His letters after marriage were more tender, without being 
less considerate. A few sentences will suffice to give an idea 
of their usual maimer. 

The following is perfectly characteristic : " This morning- 
came your kind, your aifectionate, your truly welcome letter 
of Monday evening. Where did it loiter so long? Nothing 
in my absence is so flatterng to me as your health and cheer- 



A T J' a K N K VV \ i> \i K li A K. IhQ 

fulness. I tlicn cont(Mn[)l!ite nothing so eajj^crly aa my return ; 
:nnus(! inyKcll" \Vith idciis of" my own happinoss, and dwell on 
tli(! sweet (iomestic joys which I fancy prepared forme. Nolh- 
lua; is so luifiiendly to every species of enjoyment as melan- 
choly. Gloom, however dressed, however caused, is incom- 
patihle with friendship. They can not have place in the mind 
at the same time. It is the secret, the malignant foe of senti- 
ment and love." 

He writes much respecting the children. "The letters of 
our dear children are a feast. Every part of them is pleasing 
and interesting. * * * To hear tliat they are employed, 
that no time is ahsolutely wasted, is the most flattering of any 
thing that can be told me of them. It insures their affection, 
or is the best evidence of it. It insures, in its consequences, 
every thing I am ambitious of in them. Endeavor to ])re- 
serve regularity of hours ; it conduces exceedingly to imbistry. 
* * * Aly love to the smiling little girl. I received her 
letter, but not the pretty things. I continually plan my return 
with childish im|)atience, and fancy a thousand incidents which 
render it more interesting." 

Going to Albany was a serious imdertaking in tliose days. 
From Albany, on one occasion, he writes: "The heacbiche 
with which 1 left New York grew so extreme, that, finding it 
impossible to proceed in the stage, tlie view of a vessel off 
Tarrytown, under full sail before the wind, tempted me to go 
on boiud. We reached West Point that night, and lay tliere 
at anchor near three days. After a variety of changes from 
sloop to wagon, from wagon to canoe, and from canoe to sloop 
again, I reached this place last evening. I was aWe, however, 
to land at KhinelK'ck on Timrsday evening, and there wrote 
you a letter." 

One of Colonel Burr's letters to his wife, written in the sev- 
enth year of their married life, gives us an idea of the ])layful 
badiuag(J for which liis conversation was remarkable, but 
which appears unfrequently in liisi letters. He had fiad some 
thoughts of buying a romantic spot, called Fort Johnson, de- 
.siral)le, also, as i)roperty. She, it appears, was not in favor of 
the purchase, and advised him not even to revisit the lovely 



160 LIFE OF AARON B U K U . 

scene, lest he should be tempted to buy it. But he did visit 
it, and wrote her a very pleasant, and humorous account of 
the result : 

" O Thoo. ! there is the most delifi-htful o-rove — so dark 
ened with weeping willows, that at noonday a susceptible 
fancy like yours would mistake it for a bewitching moonligli 
evening. These symjialhizing willows, too, exclude even tiie 
prying eye of curiosity. Here no rude noise interrupts th 
softest whisper. Here no harsher sound is heard than the 
wild cooings of the gentle dove, the gav thrasher's animated 
warbles, and the sotl murmurs of the passing brook. Really, 
Theo., it is charming. 

" I should have told you that I am speaking of Fort John- 
son, where I have spent a day. From this amiable bower 
you ascend a gentle declivity, by a winding path, to a cluster 
of lofty oaks and locusts. Here nature assumes a more august 
appearance. The gentle brook, which murmured sotl below, 
here bursts a cataract. Here you behold the stately Mohawk 
roll his majestic wave along the lofty A})alachians. Here the 
mind assumes a nobler tone, and is occupied by sublimer ob- 
jects. What there was tenderness, hei'e swells to rapture. It 
is truly charming. 

'* The windings of this enchanting brook form a lovely isl- 
and, variegated by the most sportive hand of nature. This 
shall be yours. We will plant it with jasmins and wood- 
bine, and call it Cy})rus. It seems formed for the ref^dence 
of the loves and the graces, and is therefore yours by the best 
of titles. It is indeed most charming. 

" But I could fill sheets in description of the beauties of this 
romantic place. We will reserve it for the subject of many nu 
amusing hour. And besides being little in the habit of the 
sublime or poetical, I grow already out of breath, and begin 
to falter, as you perceive. I can not, however, omit the most 
interesting and important circumstance ; one Avhich I had 
rather communicate to you in this way than face to face. I 
know that you was opposed to this journey to Fort Johnson. 
It is, therefore, with the greatest regret that I communicate 



AT THK NKW YORK BAR. 161 

the event ; and you ai-c not unacquainted with my induee- 
intiuts to it. 

" la rnatiy things I am indeed unhappy in possessing a sin- 
gularity of taste ; particularly unhappy when that taste did'crs 
in any thing from yours. ]3ut we can not control necessity, 
hough we often persuade ourselves that certain things are 
ur choice, when in truth we have been unavoidably impelled 
to them. In the instance I am going to relate, I shall not ex- 
amine whether I have been governed by mere fancy, or by 
motives of expediency, or by caprice ; you will probably say 
the latter. 

" My dear Theo., arm yourself with all your fortitude. I 
know you have much of it, and I liope that upon this occasion 
you will not fail to exercise it. I abhor prefoce and preamble, 
and don't Icnow why I liave now used it so freely. ]5ut I am 
well aware that what I am going to relate needs much apol- 
ogy from me, and will need much to you. If I am the un- 
willing, the unfortunate instrument of depi'iving you of any 
part of your promised gayety or pleasure, I hope you are too 
generous to aggravate the misfortune by upbraiding me with 
it. Be assured (I hope the assurance is needless), that what- 
ever diminishes your ]iap[)iness equally imj)airs mine. In 
short, then, for I grow tedious both to you and myself; and 
to procrastinate the relation of disagreeable events only gives 
them poignancy ; in short, then, my dear Theo., the beauty 
of this same Fort Johnson, the fertility of the soil, the com- 
modioiisness and elegance of the buildings, the great value of 
the mills, and the very inconsiderable price which was asked 
for the whole, have ')i.ot induced me to purchase it, and prob- 
aljly never will : in the confidence, however, of meeting your 
forgiveness. I am, etc., etc." 

One wlio reads this warm and tender correspondence re- 
ceives the impression that it gushed from hearts that confided 
in one another, and that were worthy one another's confidence. 
It was a very hapjjy family. Parents, children, servants, 
seemed all to have delighted in one another, and to have been 
animated by a common desire for tlie happiness of the whole 
circle. To his two step-sons, Colonel Burr was liberal in the 



162 LIFE OF AAKON BURR. 

extreme, ynd took tlie liveliest possible interest in their ad- 
vancement. The little Theodosia was now beginning her edu- 
cation, every step of which Avas thoughtfully superintended by 
her father. From her earliest years, she beganto manifest a 
singular, almost morbid fondness for her father, who, on his 
part, was resolved that she should be peerless among the la- 
dies of her time. Courage and fortitude were his darling 
virtues. He began to teach his daughter these, at an age 
when most parents are teaching their children effeminacy. 
He would encourage her to go alone in the dark, to the least 
frequented parts of his large rambling house, and to sleep in 
a room by herself He urged her to restrain her cries when 
she was hurt, and to overcome her appetite for injurious deli- 
cacies. To such an extent did he carry discipline of this kind, 
that visitors sometimes received the impression that he was a 
hard, imloving father ; as people will of those rare parents who 
prefer to jDromote the lasting good of their children, even at 
the expense of their present pleasure. The servants of the 
family, most of whom were slaves, were taught to read. 

In these years, there was not a spot upon the brightness of 
his good name. A rising lawyer, devoted to business, avoid- 
ing politics, happy at home, honored abroad, welcome in the 
most refined and elevl?ted circles, and sinning in them with all 
the luster of a striking person, graceful manners and a pol- 
ished wit — who would have predicted for him any thing but 
a career of still increasing brilliancy, a whole life-time of hon- 
orable exertion, and a name that would have been distinction 
to all who bore, or should inherit it ? 

True, a discerning person, a man who should have seen him 
much, and observed him closely, would have noted that in 
much of his intercourse Avith others, there was a flavor of false- 
hood. Women he always flattered. He did it on prinqiple. 
He said their ruling passion was vanity, which, he always main- 
tained, was a harmless and amiable falling. He flattered them 
with an adroitness seldom equaled, contriving always to praise 
those qualities, upon the fancied possession of which they most 
valued themselves ; which is, of all flattery, the most irresisti- 
ble. But this habit was, by no means, altogether insincere 



AT THE NEW YORK BAR. 163 

with Colonel Burr. Ho really liked women, and all their 
lovely ways, and had a great opinion of their taste and ca« 
pacity. He preferred their society to that of men, at all pe- 
riods of life — which is not a good sign. And women, with 
scarcely one exception in all his life, were warmly his friends — 
which is not an uifallibly good sign. The men whom men 
respect, the women whom v)omen approve, are the men and 
women who bless their species. 

Burr's intercourse with men, too, was not always character- 
ized by the heartiness and directness which are dear to the 
Saxon heart. He succeeded best with young men and with un- 
sophisticated elderly gentlemen. He had a rare faculty of in- 
spiring young men with his own ambition, and with his own 
contempt of danger, luxury, and case. Many young men 
loved him almost with the love of woman, and made him their 
model, and succeeded in copying his virtues and his faults. 
He, on his part, was really attached to them, would take in- 
finite pains to form and advance them ; and succeeded in so 
imprinting his own character on theirs, that their career in 
life was like his — glorious at the beginning, disastrous, if not 
disgraceful, at the close. 

The same discerning observer would have lamented Colonel 
Burr's carelessness with regard to money. He was excessively 
given to making presents, to making expensive additions to 
his house and grounds. His hospitality was sometimes pro- 
fuse in the extreme. Once, while a certain Major Prevost 
was gone to England, his whole family of young children 
were entertained at Colonel Burr's house. There was not 
that instinctive counting of the cost which marks the character 
destined to live and die in prosperity. And, still worse, there 
was not that instinctive shrinking'from debt, that caution not 
to incur obligations respecting the punctual discharge of which 
therp is any reasonable doubt, Avhich indicates the entirely 
honest mnn. At this period, however, this cardinal fault had 
not exhibited itself to a degree approaching immorality. 
Profuseness of expenditure was then, as now, the prevalent 
vice of New York, and in conforming to the bad custom Col- 



1G4 



Ti I r E OF AARON B IT K R , 



oncl Bun- difl only Avlmt most of liis neighbors did. Hamilton 
biniself" after fifteen years' successful pi-aetico of the hnv in the 
same courts with Burr, died scarcely solvent, ■ 

* In a former o:lition it was stated that Rufus Kiiij,' was one of the public 
men of tliat day wlio mismanaged their private interests. This was an error. 
I learn that Mr. King, eminently faithful as he was to the public interests in 
the various hioh offices which he filled, was a remarkably prudent manager 
of his private fortune. After a lifotuno of generous expenditure, ho loft a 
considerable estate to his childi-en. 



CHAPTER XI. 

THE NEW YORK POLITICIAN. 
TuE Eapidity of ni8 Ribb in Poi-mcs — Mkmhkh of tiir Statk Leoiblatitrb — 

Ol'POSKH Till', MkCIIANICH' BiI.I. — VOTI',8 FOIt TIIK A IIOLIIIO.V OF Sl.AVKKY — 1'aR- 
TIBS AKTEIC TIIK PkAOF, — Till? GitKAT FaMILIEB OF TIIK 8tATK — " JJuillOfj M VIIMIDONS" 

— TlIF, KaTII'ICATION OF TIIK CONSTITUTION — liCKu'S KaKI.Y MoVKMF,NTS IN I'OMTICS 

— Appointki) Attoknky-Qeneral of the State — IIis Kei'okt on tub Ukvolu- 
TIONAUY Claims — Sale of the State Lands — Elected to the Senate of tub 
United Stateb. 

Colonel Burr's rise to eminence in the political world 
was more ra[»id tlian tliat of any oilier man who has played a 
conspicuous [iart in the affaii-s of the United States, Over the 
heads of tried and able politicians, in a State where leading 
families had, for a century, nearly monopolized the offices of 
honor and etnolument, he was advanced, in four years after 
fairly entering the political arena, from a i:>rivate stati(ni, first 
to tlie highest honor of the bar, next, to a scat in the national 
councils, and then, to a competition with Washington, Adams, 
Jefferson, and Clinton for the presidency itself. This point 
he reached when he was but thirty-six years of age, without 
having originated any political idea or measure, without being 
fully committed to either of the two leading paities. 

To liis cotemporaiies, no less than to recent writers of 
political history, the suddenness of his elevation was an enig- 
ma, John Adams thought it was owing to the prestige of 
his father's and grandfather's name. Hamilton attributed it 
to Burr's unequaled wire-pulling. Some thought it was his 
military reputation. Others called it luck. His own ciiclo 
of friends regarded his elevation as the legitimate result of a 
superiority to most of his rivals in knowledge, culture;, and 
talents. No doubt all of these were causes of his success. 
Perhaps some of the mystery will vanish before a concise 
statement of his political career. 



166 LIFE OF AAEON BURR. 

Late in the antumn of 1783, Colonel Barr, as we have seen 
became a resident of the city of New York. In the spring 
of 1784 he was elected a member of the legislature, and on 
the r2th of October following, took his seat. During the first 
session, he was not a diligent, nor, as it would seem, a iDrorai- 
nent member ; attending only when important votes were 
taken, and leaving the burden of legilsation to members of 
more leisure than himself. But, at the second session, he took 
a stand on a certain bill which made him at once the most 
conspicuous of the members, and an object, out of doors, of 
equal hatred and admiration. 

A company of mechanics applied for an act of incorpora- 
tion, by which they would be enabled to hold land to an un- 
limited extent, and to wield power which, Colonel Burr 
thought, would finally endanger the independence of the city 
government. A great and wealthy Guild, unless limits Avere 
fixed to its growth and authority, would arise, he said, to 
direct the votes of the most numerous class in the community, 
and thus to overawe the government. Alone, among the 
members from the city, he opposed this bill. His coui-se cre- 
ated an intense excitement among the mechanics, some of 
whom threatened violence against his person and property; 
thus creating the circumstances in which, of all others, Aaron 
Burr was most fitted to shine. To danger he was constitu- 
tionally insensible. He stood firm in his opposition. When 
his fiiends ofiered to protect his house from assault, he adroitly 
said that he had no fear of violence from men of the Rev- 
olution, who had just made such sacrifices to conquer the 
right of governing themselves ; and that, whatever might 
occur, he was able and prepared to protect himself. The bill 
passed ; but was returned from the Council of Revision with 
Colonel Burr's objections, and was., therefore, lost. The citi 
zens generally sided with Burr, and the mechanics themselves, 
it is said, were, at least, so far convinced of the correctness ol 
his views as never to renew the application. 

Conduct like this, in a young and rising lawyer, popular 
already for his gallantry as a soldier, could not but add to hi? 
reputation for courage, a general confidence in his firmness and 



THE NEW YOKK P0LITICIAN\ 167 

address. It was calculated to win him friends among his legis- 
lative associates, among the propertied citizens, and among 
the very class whose Avishes he had opposed, who are not apt 
to like a man the less for boldly and com'teously setting them 
right. It must also be borne in mind that a town of thn-ty 
thousand inhabitants is a theater upon which a shining action 
does not escape observation. 

At the same session, a bill was introduced into the legisla- 
ture for the gradual abolition of slavery in the State. Burr 
was in favor of a speedier extinction of the anomaly, and moved 
to amend the bill so as to totally abolish slavery after a certain 
day. His amendment having been rejected, he voted for the 
original bill, which was lost. 

Then followed three years of political calm in the State of 
New York, dui'ing which the name of Aaron Burr does not 
appear in politics. 

During the period that elapsed between the conclusion of 
peace in 1783, and the formation of the Constitution in 1787, 
the question upon which parties in this State were divided 
was this : What are the rights of the Tories in this common- 
wealth ? Shall we Whigs, triumphant over them after a seven 
years' contest, regard them as defeated enemies or as mis- 
taken fellow-citizens? Shall the' animosities and disabilities 
of the war be kept up and cherished, or shall the victors mag- 
nanimously let bygones be bygones ? 

In this controversy, there were three parties. 

First, the Tories themselves, some of whom were blind 
enough to think that England, after breathing awhile, would 
attempt, and successfully too, to regain her colonies, the lost 
jewels of her diadem. Others, less infatuated, hoped, that 
after the first soreness of the war Was over, the Tories would 
enjoy in the State the preeminence they had had in the colony 
Others, disfranchised for their active hostility to the Revolu- 
tion, were humble suitors for a restoration to estates and em- 
ployment. All of these were, of course, for granting the 
Tories all the rights and j)rivileges of citizenship. 

Secondly, the Whigs, who had borne the burdens and hard- 
ships of the war ; many of whom had lost fortune, health, re- 



168 LIFE OF AAEON BUEE. 

lations, friends, in the struggle ; all of whom having seen that 
struggle prolonged and embittered by Tory machinations, had 
learned to hate a Tory Avorse than a British soldier. These 
men were indignant at the idea of conceding any thing to 
Tories. They demanded to enjoy the fruits of their triumph 
without sharing them with the enemy. 

Thirdly, between these extreme parties, there was, as usual, 
a class of people who were in favor of making some concessions 
to the Tories, and of gradually i-estoring all who would pro- 
fess loyalty to the new order of things, to equal privileges 
with the Whigs. 

Colonel Burr was a "Whig of the decided school, one of 
those who were called violent Whigs. This was the popular 
party of that day. That he took an open and active part in 
the discussion of the various Whig and Tory questions, does 
not api^ear, but he was classed with the extreme Whigs, and 
acted afterward, and on other questions, with that party. 

As there were three parties, so there were three groups of 
leading partizans. 

There were, first, the Clintons^ of whom George Clinton, 
Governor of the State, was the important person. He was the 
undisputed leader of the popular party. He had been gov- 
ernor since 1777, and was re-elected, every other year- to that 
office, for eighteen years. The CUntons, as a family, were not, 
at this time, either numerous or rich ; but George Clinton, an 
able, tough, wary, self-willed man, wielding, with unusual tact, 
the entire patronage of the State, and dear to the affections of 
the great mass of the people, is an imposing figure in the pol- 
itics of the time, and must ever be regarded as the Chief Man 
of the State of New York, during the earlier years of its in- 
dependent existence. De Witt Clinton, a nephew of the gov- 
ernor, was a student in Columbia College at this time. The 
Clintons were all strong characters, retaining something of the 
fiery, obstinate, north-of-Ireland disposition which their ances- 
tor bi"ought with him from over the sea, in 1719. They were 
thorough Whigs, all of them, though, it was said, the founder 
of the family was a royalist in the time of Charles I., and fled 
to lueland to avoid the enmity of the Roundheads. 



THE JSTEW YORK POLITICIAN. 169 

Then there were the Schuylers, with General Schnjler at 
their head, and Alexander Hamilton, his son-in-law, for orna- 
ment and champion. General Schuyler was formed for un- 
popularity. Rich, of an imposing presence, austei-e in man- 
nei's, a very honest, worthy man, he had no real sympathy 
with the age and country in which he lived. No more had 
Hamilton, as; Hamilton well knew, and bitterly confessed. But 
not to anticipate, it is enough here to say that the Schuyler 
party, as used and led by Alexander Hamilton, was the one 
most directly opposed to the Clintons. General Schuyler had 
been a competitor with George Clinton for the governorship 
in lYVY, and his disappointment, it was thought, M^as still 
very fresh in the general's recollection. 

But there was a third family in the State, which, merely as 
a family, was more important than the Clintons or Schuylers. 
This was the Livingston family — rich, numerous, and influen- 
tial. At the time we are now considering, there were nine 
members of this family in public life — politicians, judges, cler- 
gymen, lawyers — of whom several were of national celebrity. 
And besides those who bore the name of Livingston, there 
were distinguished and aspiring men who had married daugh- 
ters of the family. The Livingstons had been rooted in the 
State for more than a hundred years, and the circle of their 
connections embraced a gi-eat proportion of the leading peo- 
ple. Robert R. Livingston, a member of Congress in 1776, 
one of the committee who drew up the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, a conspicuous franier of the Constitution, afterward 
its stanch supporter, in later years the patron of Robert Ful- 
ton, and therefoi-e immortal, was at this jjeriod the head and 
pride of the Livingston family. 

These were the three families. The Clintons had poioer 
the Livingstons had tiimihers, the Schuylers had Hamilton. 
Neither of the three was strong enough to overcome the 
other two united, and any two united could triumjjh over the 
third. 

Such statements as these must, of course, be taken with 
proper allowance. A thousand influences enter into politics, 
and general statements are only outline truths. Nevejtheless, 

8 



170 I^IFB OF AARON JiUBU. 

in a Stato where only freeholders have a vote, and where thero 
are not more than twislve or fouileen thouHand freeholderH, the 
influence ol' great I'amilieH, if wielded by men of force and tal- 
ent, will he, in the long run, and in great crises, controlling. 
It was so in the Htate of New York for twenty years after the 
Revolution. 

For some years aflei' coming to New York, Colonel Burr 
held aloof from these factions. Ahsorbed in the practice of 
his profession and the education of his family, he was not 
reckoned among the politicians. And when, at length, ho 
entered the political field, it was not as an ally of either of the 
families, hut as an ind('|)endent power who profited l)y theii- 
dissensions, and wieldL-d ilw inlhicnce of two to crush the more 
oliiioxious thiid. lie had a party of his own, that served him 
instead of family connections. Gradually certain young men of 
the town, who had notliing to hope from the ruling power, am 
bitious, like himself, were drawn into his circle, and inspired 
with his own (inergy and rcisolution. They were devot(ul to 
their ciiief, of whose abilities they had an extravagant opinion. 
In every quarter, they sounded the pi-aises of the mau who, 
they said, was the bravest soldier, tlie ablest lawyer, and the 
most accomplished gentleman of his day ; endowed with equal 
valor an<l j)rudence ; formed to shine in every scene, and to 
succeed in eviu-y enterprise, JiurrK^ rnyrmidunti, these yoimg 
gentlemen were styled by General Hamilton. Tlus Tenth 
Legion^ they were proudly called by Theodosia, the daughter. 
They were not as numerous as the yoimg lady's expression 
woultl iiuply, but they were such efficient co-workers with 
their chief, that the liurrites formed a fourth party in the 
State, and were a recognized pf>wer in it years after the leader 
had vanished from the scene. This i)arty, as far as I can 
ascertain, was a merely personal one ; its objects, victory and 
glory. Consisting at first of half a dozen of Burr's personal 
friends, it grew in numbt^-s with his advancement, until, as 
just, intimated, it became a formidable " wing" of the great 
Uepublicau party. 

During the sunimer of 1787, all minds were fixed upon lli(» 
proceedings of the convention that was forming the Conslitu- 



TIIIC NEW YOKK POLITICIAN. 171 

tion under which we now live. The science of government 
never had such a thorougli discussion as it then received at the 
hands of editors, pami-Iileteers, and way-side i)olitician8. Shall 
we have a strong and splendid central government, reducing 
sovereign States to the rank of departments ; or shall these 
sovereign States merely form a federal Union, for mutual de- 
fense ? That was the question. In September, the Constitu- 
tion, wliich was a compromise between the two systems, and 
which, therefore, was (piite satisfactory to nobody, was sub- 
mitted to the States for each to ratify or rt^ect. How eagei-ly 
and how long, with what ability and learning, the question of 
ratification or rejection was discussed in this State, need not 
be recounted here. Governor Clinton, proud of the State he 
governed, and foreseeing its destiny, thought it was recpiired 
by the new Constitution to concede too much to the central 
authority, and to throw away the magnificent advantages of 
its position. He led tlie party who opposed ratification. 
Hamilton, who may ahnost be called the author of the Con- 
stitution, was of course its ablest champion. Jay, Robert li. 
Livingston, General Schuyler, the Van Rensselaei-s, were all 
strenuous in its support, and it was the union of the Livuig- 
ston influence with the Schuyler, on tliis great question, that 
added New York to the States that had accepted the Con- 
stitution. William Livingston, the reader is aware, was one 
of the framers of the instrument. 

It is a significant fact that there should be no trace of Aaron 
Burr in a controversy so interesting and so vital as this. Mr. 
Davis says he was " neutral" on the question. Hamilton says 
his "conduct was equivocal." He was in no position that 
obliged him publicly to espouse either side of the question, 
and- his was not the kind of intellect to shine in the pages of 
" The Federalist." His letters show, that while this subject was 
in agitation, he was immersed in law business. In common 
with most of the leading men of that time, including the 
framers of the Constitution, and particularly Hamilton, he had 
a low opinion of the merits of the new system, as a piece of 
political machinery. Conversing with a gentleman on the sub- 
ject, toward the close of his life, he used language like this: 



IV2 LIFE OF AARON BUKE. 

" When the Constitution was first framed," said he, " I pre- 
dicted tliat it would not last fifty years. I was mistaken. It 
will evidently last longer than that. But I was mistaken only 
in point of time. The crash will come., but not quite as soon 
as I thought." 

Though the New York Convention accepted the Constitu- 
tion by a majority of only three members, in a House of fifty- 
seven, yet, after the question was disposed of, there was a 
powerful reaction in favor of the Federal party. The feeling 
was general that the Constitution must be supported, and 
fairly tried. In the city, the anti-Federalists, as a party, were 
almost annihilated, and it was many a year before they gained 
the ascendancy. 

It was in tlie spring of 1788, when the Federal majority in 
the city was overwhehning, and in the State considerable, that 
Colonel Burr first appears in political history as the candidate 
of the anti-Federal party. On the walls of the city, in the 
month of April, appeared a handbill announcing to the shat- 
tered remnant of the popular party, that 

" The Sons of Liberty, who are again called upon 

TO contend "WITH THE SHELTERED ALIENS, WHO HAVE, BY THE 

courtesy op our own country, been permitted to remain 
among us, avill give their support to the following 
ticket: William Deming, Melancthon Smith, Mauimus 

WiLLET, AND AaRON BuRR." 

With this nomination, I presume. Colonel Burr had little to 
do. The ticket was probably run merely to keep the party 
together. Yet, as after making every allowance that even 
charity requires. Colonel Burr's course as a politician can not 
be praised, it is only fair to bear in mind that when the popu- 
lar party seemed hopelessly crushed, was the time when he 
first allowed his name to be identified with it. 

The next year, 1789, there was an election for governor, 
and the victorious Federalists, under Hamilton, had hopes of 
ousting Governor Clinton, who was a candidate for reelection. 
Clinton, however, was so rooted in the affections of the peo- 
ple, that Hamilton despaired of electing an opposition candi- 
date by direct means. He therefore resorted to a maneuver, 



THE NKW TOKK POLITICIAN. 173 

which he would have eloquently denounced if it had been de- 
vised by Burr. Chief Justice Morris, it was generally sup- 
posed and desired, would have been the regular Federal 
candidate. But six weeks before the election, Hamilton 
called a meeting in New York of moderate men of both 
parties, who nominated, as the opposing candidate, Judge 
Yates, an anti-Federalist, but a man, it was thought, who would 
be supported by enough Federalists to accomplish Hamilton's 
object, the downfall of Clinton, Judge Yates was one of 
Burr's most intimate friends. When Colonel Burr was at 
Albany in 1782, endeavoring to conquer the opposition of the 
lawyers to his premature, irregular admission to the bar, 
Judge Yates rendered him essential service, which laid the 
foundation of a lasting and cordial friendship between them. 
On every political question since, Colonel Burr and Judge 
Yates had felt and acted together. With Governor Clinton 
he had no particular relations. In this movement, therefore, 
to elevate his old and venerated friend. Colonel Burr joined, 
and his name appears, with that of Hamilton, William Duer, 
and Robert Troup, as one of the committee of correspondence 
appointed to promote the object. Yates accepted, and Morris 
was induced to decline the nomination. The Federalists is- 
sued an address, in which with singular absurdity, they avow 
2k preference for Mori-is, but a determination to vote for Yates, 
as Yates was the only m;in to beat Clinton with. The trick 
nearly succeeded. Clinton received 6,391 votes ; Yates, 
5,962 : majority for Clinton, 429. 

This is the only instance in which Hamilton and Burr ever 
acted in politics together. There is a tendency in human na- 
ture to heap obloquy upon a public man who is irretrievably 
down' and, accordingly, I find writers, who give an account, 
of this election, attributing political inconsistency and maneu- 
vering to Burr. On the contrary, it was Hamilton who wa9 
'inconsistent, and who maneuvered. As yet Burr was no poli- 
tician. Nothing was more natural or more proper than his 
support of an old friend, with whom he was in political ac. 
cord. 

Governor Clinton was evidently of that opinion, for, four 



1T4 LIFE OF AAEON BUKP 

months after the election, he oftered Burr the Attorney-Gen- 
ei-alship of the State. This was a tribute to the lawyer merely. 
The otiiee was important and lacrative, but it was not given, 
at that day, as a matter of course, to a partizan. For some 
days atler the otter was made, Colonel Burr hesitated to accept 
it, not from any dislike to the oflice, as he hiformed the gov- 
ernor, but from other circumstances known to both, and there- 
fore not mentioned. September 25th he signitied liis wil- 
lingness to accept, and on the 27th he was appointed. It is 
conceded, I believe, by evei-y one, that during the two years 
that Colonel Burr held this oflice, its duties were performed 
by him with punctilious correctness and efficiency. 

In March, 1700, the Attorney-General was named one of 
three commissioners, upon whom the legislature devolved the 
duty of classifying and deciding upon the claims of individuals 
for services rendered and losses sustained in the revolutionary 
war. These claimants were numberless. Some of them had 
served in the State militia, some in the Continental army, and 
some in both. Others had supplied provisions to both de- 
scriptions of troops. Many had had their estates overrun, 
their houses pillaged or burnt by the foe. Some of the claims 
were for many thousands of dollars, others for the value of a 
few bushels of oats or tons of hay. Of course, in the throng 
of rightful claimaints mingled not a few rogues, whose ac- 
counts needed the closest scrutiny. And when the justice of 
a claim was established, it was often a difficult point to decide 
whether it was the general government, or the State govern- 
mcjit that ouii'ht to dischartie it. In many cases both seemed 
liable, and the commissioners had- to decide in M'hat propor- 
tion. The investigation was continued at intervals for the 
period of two years, at the expiration of which the Attorney- 
General drew up a report, which was presented to the legisla- 
ture, and accepted by that body without opposition or amend- 
ment. The report was chiefly remarkable for its clear and 
concise statement of the principles upon M'hich claims had 
been allowed, rejected, or excluded from consideration. Those 
principles were made the basis of all future settlements with 
revolutionary creditors in this State, and Colonel Burr gained 



THE NEW YORK POLITICIAN. 1*75 

much in reputation from the ability with which they were de- 
veloped in the report. 

The Attorney-General in 1791 was appointed to serve on 
another commission of great importance, the issue of which 
was not ])roductive of reputation to any one. 

The State, at this time, was in pressing need of money, and 
exceedingly rich in laud. At the close of the war, there were 
seven millions of acres of land belonging to the State, that 
were still wild and waste. The magniticient and productive 
region now known as western' New York, the garden of tho 
northern States, was then a wilderness inhabited by Indians, 
and traversed only by Indian trails. Indeed the entire State ot 
New York, except its southern extremity and the shores of the 
Hudson rivei", was in the same primeval condition. It was 
one of the great questions of State policy, from 1783 to 1791, 
liow to get the wild lands sold and settled. Various laws had 
been passed to facilitate the object, but it had progressed \vith 
provoking slowness, until, in 1791, the State treasury being in 
extreme need of replenishment, and a whole army of creditors 
waiting only the award of the commissioners to present and 
press their claims, it was resolved to force the lands to a sale. 
To this end, the legislature, by a vote nearly or quite uuan- 
ivnous, authorized the Commissioners of the Land Office to 
" dispose of any of the waste and unappropriated lands in the 
State, in such parcels, on such terms, and in such manner, as 
they shall judge most conducive to the interests of the State." 
Powers more unlimited Avere never confided to any body of 
men. The Commissioners were, the Governor, the Secre- 
tary of State, the Attorney-General, the Treasurer, and the 
Auditor. 

Then followed some of the most extraordinary land sales 
that even this richly-landed continent has known. In the 
course of the summer, the Commissioners sold the enormous 
-qiiantity of five and a half millions of acres, at an average 
price of about eighteen cents per acre. It was sold in pro- 
digious tracts, the numbei' of purchasers not exceeding the 
number of millions of acres disposed of. One tract brought 
three shillings an acre ; another, two shillings ; another, one 



176 LIFE OF AAKON BUKK. 

sbillinp:. The most astoniuling sale of all was one to Alex- 
ander McConib of more than three million six hundred thou- 
sand acres, at the seemingly ridiculous price of eight pence 
per acre, to be paid in live annual installments! The sum re- 
alized by all the sales was a million and thirty thousand dol- 
lars, not inore than half of which was innncdiately available. 

When these sales were made public a great outcry arose in 
all parts of the State, and resolutions of censure were moved 
in the legislature. It was everywhere charged that Governor 
Clinton had a personal interest in tlie Macomb purchase. 
Colonel Burr, it was shown, had had no part in eifooting the 
sales, as he was absent on otlieial duty when they had taken 
place. At the time, therefore, he escaped the odium of the 
transaction, and it was reserved for subsequent periods of 
political contention to connect his name with them. The Com- 
missioners replied, first, by denying, point-blank, that any of 
their number liad the slightest personal interest ineither of the 
sales ; which was, luiquestionahly, the fact. They said, too, 
Avhat no one could deny, that they had not transcended the 
power confided xo them by the legislature ; that no better 
terms could be obtained tor the lands ; and that the chief ob- 
ject of the State in selling was to bring private interest to 
bear upon getting the lands sold to actual settlers. The Com- 
missioners were, at length, completely exonerated, and the 
Siiles which ttiev made really Aad the efleet of hastenini>; the 
settlement of the lands. Experience, I believe, has proved 
that if there mifst be speculation in wild lands, the people's 
own domain, it is a less evil to sell it in tracts too large to be 
retained in the hands of the speculator, than in quantities 
which are likely to be held by individuals till the toil of sur- 
rounding settlers has enhanced their value. 

In January, 1701, occurred Avhat is regarded as the great 
mystery of Ci>lonel Burr's political career. lie was elected to 
represent the Slate of Xew York in the Senate of the United 
States. Rufus King and Philip Schuyler were the first Uni- 
ted States Senators chosen by the State of New York ; and, as 
General Schuyler had drawn the short term, his seat would 
become vacant on the fth of ]\[areh, 1T91. lie was a candi- 



THE NKW YOllK P O L, I T I C I A T!T . Ill 

date for leelection. BcsiJe being in actual possession of the 
seat, he liad the advantage of old renown, inrtuential connec- 
tions, and the powerful aid of Hamilton, now the confidential 
man of Washington's administration, and in the full tide of his 
great linancial measures. Above all, the Federalists had a 
majority in the legislature which was to elect the Senator, and 
Schuyler was the most federal of Federalists. Aaron Burr was 
a young man of thirty-live, not known in national politics, with 
IK) claims upon either party, and with few advantages which 
were not personal. Yet, upon General Schuyler's nomination, 
he was at once, and decisively, rejected ; and, immediately 
after, when Aaron Burr was proposed, he was, upon the lirst 
vote, in both Houses, elected. Sixteen Senators voted, of 
whom twelve voted for Burr. In the Assembly, Burr's ma- 
jority was live. 

The news])apers of the time throw no liglit upon the causes 
of Burr's election, They record the vote, without a word 
of comment. No cotemporary record or memoir explains it. 
Mr. Davis says nothing about it. In the ))amphlet war of 
1804, Bun's vituperators frequently taunt him with having 
gained this great step without having done any service enti- 
tling him to it, but they do not as much as hint at the means 
l)y which it was gained. Of recent historians, the amiable and 
fair-minded Dr. Hammond (History of Political Parties in the 
State of New York) attributes liurr's success to his su])j)osed 
moderation in politics, to his reputation as an orator, and to 
the contrast his fascinating manners presented to Schuyler's 
austerity. He adds that Morgan Lewis, a connection of the 
Livingstons, succeeded Burr as Attorney-General, and suggests 
that this may have been '■'■foreseen''^ at the time of the elec- 
tion. Mr. Hildreth conjectures' that the election of Burr to 
the Senate may have been a bid from the Federalists to win 
him over to their side ! But would the Federalists, as a party, 
have defeated Hamilton's father-in-law for such an object? 

The only glimmer of light thrown on the affair in the cor- 
respond'ence of the period, is shed by the following passage of 
a letter from Schuyler to Hamilton, dated January 29th, 1792 : 
'"■ vVs no good," says the general, " could possibly result from 



178 LIFJEOFAAIJONBUKR. 

evincing any resentment to Mr. Burr for tlie part he took last 
winter (when the election for Senator occurred), I have on 
every occasion behaved toward him as if he had not been the 
principal in the business." What business? If the reference 
is to the election, we learn from it that General Schuyler at- 
tributed .his defeat to Burr's personal exertions ; and if the 
general was correct in his supposition, then xce may conjecture 
that, in some mysterious way. Colonel ]>urr contrived to unite 
in his own support the influence of the Clintons and the Liv- 
ingstons. The Livingstons, as a family, it is now well known, 
resented the splendid elevation of the young adventurer, 
Alexander Hamilton, a man not native to the soil ; while 
Robert R. Livingston, the head of their ancient house, a 
statesman distinguished in the country's annals w^hile yet 
Hamilton was a merdiant's clerk in the West Indies, was suf- 
fered to languish in obscurity. ]3urr played upon this string 
a few years later with great elfect. It may have been touched 
in 1791. 

Apart from these impenetrabilities, there is no difliculty in 
plausibly accounting for Colonel Burr's election to the Senate. 
General Schuyler was personally unacceptable. He was no 
speaker. He was a thorough-going partizan, and bore the 
scars of former political contests. He was identified with 
Hamilton, whose financial system was rending the nation into 
factions, and whose towering eminence dwarfed so manv of 
his cotemporaries. Against Schuyler a direct party oppo- 
sition would probably have fjxiled. Burr was a new man, 
which is, in politics, often an overwhelming advantage. He 
was thought to be a moderate man, who would represent the 
State ably, fairly, and faithfully. He was an educated man, 
in a community where a collegiate education was a valuable 
distinction, and one of the rarest. He stood before the people 
in the untarnished luster of powers whose speciality it was to 
shine. Except Hamilton, he was thought to be the finest or- 
ator in the State, as well as a man of peculiarly effective tact. 
He was master of an addi-ess and manner which could be im- 
pressive or pleasing as the occasion required. Some members 
were, doubtless, proud to send to Philadelphia so fine a gen- 



THE NEW YOKK POLITICIAN. 17& 

tlemau as Colonel Burr ; for, in that day, more than now, 
manner was power. I have conversed with men who were 
captivated with the presence and style of the man when he 
was neai'ly fourscore, and had both legs in the grave. What 
power, then, there must have been in his presence when he 
was in the prime of his years ! Just at that time, too, the 
New York legislature was agitated on the subject of the 
United States Senate sitting with closed doors ; one of the 
great little questions of the day. Schuyler, haughty old sol- 
dier that he was, was the man to insist upon excluding the 
vulgar public from the deliberations of a body that felt itself 
to bo thy American House of Lords. Complaisant and popular 
Burr, who had enough of the Napoleonic intellect to see the 
immeasurable importance of little things, was, then and after- 
ward, an advocate of an open Senate. 

Thus conjecture attempts to supply the want of informa- 
tion. 

If the causes of Burr's elevation are uncertain, the conse- 
quences of it are not. Schuyler felt his defeat acutely, and 
Hamilton was painfully disappointed. It was of the utmost 
possible importance to the Secretary of the Treasury to have 
a reliable majority in Congress ; and the presence of a devoted 
father-in-law, in a Senate of twenty-eight members sitting with 
closed doors, was convenient. From 1791 dates Hamilton's 
repugnance to Burr, and soon after his letters begin to teem 
with passages expressive of that repugnance. The two fimilies 
were on terms of politeness, then and always. The two men 
were, to all appearance, cordial friends enough down to the 
last month of Hamilton's life. But from this time, in what- 
ever direction Burr sought advancement, or advancement 
sought him, his secret, inveterate opponent was Alexander 
Hamilton ; until at length the politics of the United States 
was resolved into a contest between these two individuals. 

The effect upon Burr's own mind of his election to the 
Senate is dimly visible in his correspondence. He seems now 
to have accepted politics as his vocation. His wife writes to 
him a few weeks alter the election, and some months before 
he took his seat, that ho ought to take measures to reestablish 



' ^*^ LIFE O F A A R O X H V K U . 



his health before turnim/ politician. His own letters contain 
scarcely an allusion to politics. Once, he advises 31rs. Burr 
not to travel, if possible, with a political partizan, but rather 
with an opponent. Occasionally he says that he dares not 
trust the public mail Avith political secrets. When he does 
write upon politics, it is in ciphers. He requests IS to ask 45 
whether, for any reasons, 21 could be induced to vote for 6, 
and, if he could, whether 14 would withdraw his opposition to 
29, and 11 exert his influence in lavor of 22. The reader will, 
however, remember that this mode of correspondence was 
connnon at that day between politicians. Though Burr was, 
perhaps, the most mysterious politician of them all, yet all 
politicians were, more or less, mysterious. 



CHAPTER XII. 

A SENATOR. 

Entkm tkb Sen'atk — The Sknatk's Istf.rvikw wmt Presidknt Wasitington 

— Rijkk's Addkkss to Tin; Pkkhidknt — Lettkr fkom the Feenoh Kin'O — 
The Pi£Ksir>ENT fobbids Colonel Burr to Examine the Kecords — Burr 
Talked op fob the Govebnoksiiip op the State — Bure's Opinion on the Dis- 
puted Canvass — Second Peesidbstial Election — Burk a Candidate — Ham- 
ilton Opposes and Denounces him — Bueb as a Debater — Washington's 

JiKFUSAL TO BEND illM AMBASSADOR TO FbANCE — ThIBD PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION 

— Burr A prominent Candidate — Hamilton aoain Opposes him — Domestic 
Life — Death of Mrs. Burr — Education of his Daughter. 

On the first day of t!ie se.ssion, October 24tli, 1791, Colonel 
Burr " took the oaths and his seat." 

The next day President Washington, as the custom then 
was, delivered his annual Speech to both Houses assembled 
in the Senate Chamber. The Speech was composed after 
the model of the English king's speeches to Parliament, 
AV'hich it resembled also in brevity. First, the President 
addressed his "Fellow-citizens of the Senate and of the 
House of Representatives ;" then, the " Gentlemen of the 
Senate ;" then, the " Gentlemen of the House of Representa- 
tives;" and lastly, the ".Gentlemen of the Senate and House 
of Representatives." When the ceremonial was. over, and 
the Senators were left in possession of their chamber, a com- 
mittee of three was ajjpointed to draw up the usual address 
in reply to the President, and Colonel Burr, their new and 
youngest associate, received the compliment of being named 
chairman of that committee. He prepared the address, which, 
on being read to the Senate, was accepted without amendment. 
The committee were next ordered to wait on the President to 
ask when and where he would receive the Senate's reply to 
his speech. Colonel Burr, on their return, reported Monday, 
at noon, at the l^resident's own house. At the time ap- 



182 LIFE OF AAKON J5UKU. 

pointed, the Senators went in procession to the President's, 
and were received with that serious > and stately courtesy 
wliich was then in vogue among pei'sons in higli oilice. 

FanC)'^ a long dining-room, with tlie tables and chairs re- 
moved. Before the fire-place stands a tall and superb figure, 
clad in a suit of black velvet, with black silk stockings and 
silver buckles. His hair, wliite with powder, is gathered be- 
hind in a silk bag. He wears yellow gloves, and holds a 
cocked hat adorned with cockade and plume, A sword, with 
hilt of polished steel and sheath of white leather, further re- 
lieves the somber magnificence of the President's form. The 
Senators enter, with Vice-President Adams at their head, and 
foj-m a semicircle round the President while Mr. Adams 
reads the address. 

As a relic of an extinct usage, the reader may be gratified 
to see the address prepared by Colonel Burr for this occasion. 
It reads as follows : 

" Sir : The Senate of the United States have received with 
the highest satisfaction the assurances of public prosperity 
contained in your speech to both Houses. The multiplied 
blessings of Providence have not escaped our notice, or failed 
to excite our gratitude. 

" The benefits which flow from the restoration of public 
and private confidence are conspicuous and important ; and 
the pleasure with which we contemplate them is heightened 
by your assurance of those further communications which shall 
confirm their existence and indicate their source. 

" Wliile we rejoice in the success of those military opera- 
tions which have been directed against the hostile Indians, we 
lament with you the necessity that has produced them ; and 
we participate the hope that the present pi'ospect of a gene- 
ral peace, on terms of moderation and justice, may be wi'ought , 
into complete and permanent effect ; and that the measures of 
govermnent may equally embrace the security of our front- 
iers and the general interests of humanity. Our solicitude to 
obtain which, will insure our zealous attention to an object so 
wai-mly espoused by the principles of benevolence, and so 
highly interesting to the honor and welfare of the nation. 



A SKNATOJi. 183 

" The several subjc.'cts wLiuIi you have particularly recom- 
mended, and tliose which remain of former sessions, will en- 
gage our early consideration. We are encouraged to prose- 
cute them with alacrity and steadiness, by the belief that they 
will interest no passion but that for the general welfare ; by 
the assuiance of concert, and by a view of those arduous and 
important arrangements which have been already accom- 
plished. 

" We observe, sir, the constancy and activity of your zeal 
for the public good. The examjjle will animate our efforts to 
promote the happiness of our country," 

To this address, the senatorial record informs us, the Presi- 
dent was pleased to make the following reply : 

" Gentlemen : This manifestation of your zeal for the honor 
and the happiness of our country derives its full value from 
the share which your deliberations have already had in pro- 
moting both. 

^ " I thank you for the favorable sentiments with wliich you 
view the part I have borne in the arduous trust committed to 
the government of the United States ; and desire you to be 
assured that all my zeal will continue to second those further 
efforts for the public good which are insured by the spirit iu 
which you are entering on the present session." 

Whereupon, we may presume, the Senate made a formal 
and ceremonious exit, and then returned to their chamber. 

The session thus imposingly begun, lasted more than six 
months, but no spectator witnessed, and no corps of reporters 
recorded, the proceedings. The official record exists, but it is 
little more than a formal statement of votes. In Mr. Benton's 
valuable abridgment of the Congressional Debates, the pro- 
ceedings of this Senate, from October to May, occupy only 
five pages. On one of those pages the name of Colonel Burr 
occurs in connection with an affair which even now has a 
touching interest. 

How grateful the people of the United States were to the 
French, and to the French king, for the timely help afforded 
by them in the late war, can not be realized by the present 
luxurious generation ; nor how passionate and universal was 



184 L 1 F K O F A A R O N 15 U U U . 

the sympathy of tho delivered nation with the suhseqiient 
stvuctrlo of the French for freedom. No sooner was America 
free, than France aspired. In the summer of 1V80 the news 
of the Bastile's immortal storming" thrilled the young repub- 
lic. Soon, the excesses of the Parisians, in their delirium of 
terror and desire, shocked the world, and gavo pause to the 
more conservative even of Americans. . The Hioht of the king 
in 1790, appears in the memoirs and letters of that age as a 
terrible event ; one which lost the revolutionists the sympa- 
thy of millions. But the king was brought back to Paris ; a 
grand reconciliation with the people he had misunderstood 
was enacted; the king accepted the constitution ; and France, 
for a week, was in ecstacies. Down to this period, and be- 
yond it, the great mass of Americans were ardent sympti- 
thizers with the Revolution. But Washington, Hamilton, 
Adams, Rufus King, and other leading conservatives, lH\gan 
to be quite decided in the o})initMi that the French Revolu- 
tion was essentially diabolical, and could issue in no good to 
the French, or any other people. 

In ]March, 1792, the President sent a message to Congress 
worded ^\ith his usual caution, but so worded as to betray his 
own opinion. '' Knowing," said he, " the friendly interest you 
take in whatever may promote the happiness and prosperity 
of the French nation," he laid before them a letter just re- 
ceived from his Most Christian Majesty. The letter which 
poor Louis had sent his " very dear great friends and allies," 
was the ft>llowing : 

" We make it our duty to inform you that we have accepted 
the constitution which has been presented to us in the name 
of the French nation, and according to whieli France will be 
henceforth governed. AVe do not doubt that vou take an in- 
terest in an event so important to our kijigdom, and to us 
and that it is with real pleasure we take this occasion to renew 
to you assurances of the sincere friendship we bear you. 
Whereupon, we pray God to have you, very dear, great 
friends and allies, in his just and holy keeping." 

This letter having been read in the Senate, a dilference 
arose as to the manner in which its reception should be ac- 



A fiJSNATOR. 185 

kjiowle<Ig('d, First, a frigid resolution was proposed, to the 
effect that tlie President be informed, that the Senate have 
received tiie news contairxed in the king's letter with satisfac- 
tion. This resolution was rejected by a vote of six totwenty- 
on<! ; Colonel Burr voting against it; his colleague, Mr. King, 
lor it. The renolution was then amended, so as to request the 
I'rc.'sident to noike, hnov^a to the Jcing that the Senate liad re- 
ceived the tidings with the highest satisfaction. This was 
passed . 

Colonel Munroe, a lew days after, revived the subject of 
the Sfiuate's sitting with closed doors, and moved that, dur- 
ing the recess, galleries be constructed in the chamber for the 
iiccommodation of the public, who should, after the present 
session, be admitted to witness the proceedings. This propo- 
sition was )-{!Jected by a vote of eight to seventeen. Colonel 
Jiurr, who always favored the measure, and afterward assisted 
to carry it, was absent, I presume, when this vote was taken, 
as his name does not appear in the record. 

'J'hough Colonel Burr began his senatorial career by being 
the medium of the Senate's high courtesy to General Wash- 
ington, yet, before the session was over, he came into disa- 
greeable collision with the President. Burr was Business 
incarnate. His activity was irrepressible. Being now cut oflf 
fi'om his ordinary employments, and having deliberately 
turned politician, he was eager to acquire knowledge respect- 
ing state-craft. It was one of his projects, too, to write a 
History of the American Revolution. For these reasons, he 
was often busy, during his first winter in Congress, among the 
records in the Department of State, of which his fi-iend Jef- 
ferson was then the chief. Always an early riser, he was ac- 
customed, for a time, to go to thve department as early as five 
in the morning. lie employed a messengei- to make a fire, a 
confidential clerk to assist him in searching and copying, a 
servant to bring liim his breakfast ; and so, from five until ten 
o'clock, the business went vigorously on. This practice was 
continued till nearly the close of the session, when operations 
were interruj>ted by a peiemptory order from the President, 
forbidding his further examination. Desiring to complete 



186 LIFE OF AAEON BURR. 

his knowledge respecting the late surrender of the western 
posts, he addressed a note to Mr. Jefferson, requesting permis- 
sion to make that particular examination. The Secretai*y re- 
plied that " it had been concluded to be impro]ier to commu- 
nicate the correspondence of existing ministers." Burr ap- 
pears to have regarded this as an uncalled-for and arbitrary- 
proceeding. It was in accordance with the system of the 
time ; but from what we now know of the relations of the 
persons concerned, and the scenes daily transpiring in the cab- 
inet, we may infer that if the searcher of the records had been 
a Senator approved and trusted by the Secretary of the Treas- 
ury, he would not have been denied access to them — at least, 
not in a peremptory manner. 

In April, 1792, there was to be an election for governor in 
the State of New York, and Colonel Burr was frequently men- 
tioned as a candidate. At that time, the respectable salary 
and immense patronage of the governor, rendered the office 
more imposing and more desired than a seat in the Senate. 
Burr was thought of as a candidate, first, by the Republican 
party, who feared to try the field again with Governor Clin- 
ton ; secondly, by the Federalists, who were not confident of 
succeeding with a candidate fully identified with their party ; 
thirdly, he was proposed as an independent candidate, on the 
ground that he belonged to no party, and would be supported 
by the moderate men of all parties. The truth is, that Colonel 
Burr was then a very popular man, and both parties would 
have liked to secure the advantage of his name and talents. 
While it Avas still uncertain whether he would run for the 
governorship, some of Hamilton's friends were of opinion that 
the best policy of the Federalists would be to support Burr, 
and they wrote to Hamilton to that effect. Mr. Ledyard, 
February 1, wi'ote from New York, that on his arrival in the 
city, he found that " a tide was likely to make strongly for 
Mr. Burr. Mr. Schuyler," he continues, " supposes that if Mr. 
Clinton and Mr. Burr were the only competitors, and his 
(Schuyler's) friends thrown out of the scale, it would be doubt- 
ful which succeeded." After showing that, to beat Burr, the 
Federalists must either support Clinton or run a third candi- 



A SENATOR. 187 

late, neither of which was advisable, Mr. Ledyard adds the 
following observations : " If Burr finally succeeds, and you 
have not the merit of it, it would be an event extremely dis- 
agreeable to me. With this impression, I have sought re- 
peated interviews with him, until I could procure an artless 
declaration of his sentiments, both with respect to the union 

n present grounds, and also with respect to you. He has 
expressed a sincere regard for the safety and well-being of 
the former. With respect to yourself, he expresses an entire 
confidence in the wisdom and integrity of your designs, and a 
real personal friendship ; and which he does not seem to su2> 
pose you doubt of, or that you ever will, unless it may arise 
from meddling interveners." 

The next day after this letter was dispatched, James Wat- 
son, another leading Federalist, writes to Hamilton in a sim- 
ilar strain. Burr's chances, he thought, were good, and, if the 
Federalists should go for him, strong. Had they not better 
support him ? If they do not, will it not make him an oppo- 
nent of the Federal party, if he is not now ? If they do, will it 
not attach him to the Federalists ? And if he should turn 
traitor, will it not so destroy his popularity as to deprive him 
of the power of doing harm ? " Whenever," says Mr. Wat- 
son, " I imagine how much easier it is to embarrass and ob- 
struct the benign operations of government than to give it the 
requisite tone and vigor, I am solicitous to remove talents, 
perseverance, and address, as far from the opposition as pos- 
sible." "The absence of evil will continue to be desirable 
until the public mind becomes more quiet, and federal 
habits take deeper root. I shall only add that the cautious 
distance observed by this gentleman toward all parties, how- 
ever exceptionable in a politician, may be a real merit in a 
governor." 

Upon the proposal thus plausibly urged, Hamilton, the un- 
questioned leader of the Federal party in the State, placed his 
veto. A word from him would, in all probability, have made 
Aaron Burr Governor of New York in 1792. But that word 
was not spoken. The Federalists nominated the virtuous 
John Jay, the Republicans adhered to their old standard- 



188 LIFEOFAAKONBUKR. 

bearer, Governor Clinton, and the contest Avas a strictly party 
one. 

It was tte closest and angriest the State had yet seen, and 
the issue, instead of calming, exasperated parties more than 
he strife itself There was an informality in the canvass, and 
both sides claimed the Aactory, The canvassers Avere eleven 
n number, of whom seven thought that Clinton had carried 
the State by a majority of one hundred and eight, while the 
remaining four were for giving the victory to Jay. After 
many stormy discussions, the canvassers agreed to request the 
opinion of the Senators, Rufns King and Aaron Burr, upon 
the point in dispute, which was the following : 

The law then required that the votes of a county should be 
sealed up by the inspectors of election, delivered into the 
hands of the sheriff, and by him or his deputy conveyed in- 
tact to the Secretary of State. Now, it chanced that the 
county of Otsego, on this^ occasion, had no sheriff, R. R. 
Smith had held the office, but his terra had expired. Another 
gentleman had been appointed sheriff, but had not yet been 
sworn in ; and during the brief interregnum, the important 
business of receiving and conveying the votes had presented 
itself In these circumstances, Mr. Smith, the late sheriff, as 
was natural, performed the duty. But he was not the sheriff. 
Nay, he had been elected to the board of supervisors, an office 
uicompatible with that of sheriff, and had actually taken his 
seat at the board, and performed official acts. The question 
was, whether the votes received and sent by him could be le- 
gally canvassed. If yes, the Federalists had triumphed, and 
John Jay was governor. If no, the Republicans were in the 
ascendant, and George Clinton retained the power he had 
wielded for sixteen years. 

Every head in the United States that had a smattering of 
law in it was given up to the consideration of this great ques- 
tion in the spring of 1792. The two Senators, upon confer- 
ring, discovered that an irreconcilable difference of opinion 
existed between them on the subject. Colonel Burr proposed 
that they should, for that reason, decline advising the can- 
vassers. But as Mr. King avowed an intention of Q-ivino: his 



A SENATOR. 189 

own opinion, nothing remained but that Colonel Burr should 
give his also. The two opinions were given. Both were 
able, clear, and brief. Mr. King's, which was for admitting 
the votes, carried conviction with it to every Federal mind in 
the country ; while Colonel Burr's, which was for rejecting 
them, w^as equally convincing to the Republican intellect. 
Indeed, it w^as, considering all the circumstances, a question 
really difficult to decide, and the best lawyers of that day dif- 
fered ujion it, as doxibtless would the best lawyers of the pi'es- 
ent day if it were submitted to them. Before giving his own, 
Colonel Burr obtained the written opinion of Edmund Ran- 
dolph (Attorney-General), Pierpont Edwards, Jonathan D. Ser- 
geant, and other eminent legal friends, all of whom coincided 
with him. On the other hand, Rufus King could exhibit an 
imposing array of names in support of his opinion. Mr. King- 
was for having justice done ; Burr, for having the law ob- 
served. Both opinions were doubtless as sincere as they were 
characteristic* 

The canvassers, thus compelled to choose between two 
opinions diametrically adverse, decided, of course, to follow 
that which accorded with the political preferences of the ma- 

* The following is the material paragraph of Colonel Burr's opinion, which, 
he declared, was never answered, except by abuse; " There are instances of 
of&ces being exercised by persons holding under an authority apparently 
good, but whicli, on strict legal examination, proves defective ; whose acts, 
nevertheless, are, with some limitaiknis, considered as valid. This authority 
is called colorahk, and the officer, in such cases, is said to be an officer de 
facto ; which intends an intermediate state between an exercise strictly law- 
ful, and one without such color of right. Mr. Smith does not appear to me 
to have holden the office of sheriff, on the 3d of March, under such color or 
pretense of right. The term of his office had expired, and he had formally 
expressed his determination not to accept a reappointment ; after the expi- 
ration of the year he accepted, and even two days betbre the receipt of the 
ballots, openly exercised an office incompatible with that of sheriff; and it is 
to be inferred, from the tenor of the affidavits, that he then knew of the ap- 
pointment of Mr. Gilbert. The assumption of this authority by Mr. Smith, 
does not even appear to have been produced by any urgent public necessity 
or imminent public inconvenience. Mr. Gilbert was quahfied in season to 
have discharged the duty, and, for aught that is shown, his attendance,- ii 
really desired, might have been procured still earlier." 



I 90 T, I F K OF A A U O N H U R K , 

jority of llieir i\ntubov. Tlioy pvonounood George Clinton 
duly electeci The ex;i^peralioii of the Federalists, upon the 
promulgation of this decision, was such tliat, for a time, tho 
State seemed in danger of anarchy. For many years tho 
dream of that party had been to see Clinton defeated, and a 
Federalist in the executive chair. lie /lad been defeated, but 
the scepter which they were just about to grasp, they now 
saw snatched away from between their eager hands. Nothing 
but the nvoder.'Uion of iNIr. Jay, ami the general regard for 
law, which prevailed in the most order-loving of parties, saved 
the State from temjntrary confusion. 

^■Vs each Senator had decided in tavor of his own party, tho 
nuHivcs of both were assailed. Colonel Hurr, it was charged, 
was an adherent of Governor Clinton, and wished to ingratiate 
himself with the Ivepublieans. In a letter to a fn»>nd, written 
soon atler he iiad given his opinion, he alludes to these accu- 
sations. '*ITpon the late occasion,'' he says, "I earnestly 
wished and soui>-ht to be relieved from the necessity of e:iving 
any opinion, particularly from a knowledge that it would bo 
disagreeable to you and a few others whom I respect and 
wish alwavs to irratifv. l>ut the conduct of i\[r. Kinu" letl mo 
no alten\ative. I was obliged to give an opinion, and I have 
not yet learned to give any other than which my judgment 
directs. It would, indeed, be the extreme of weakness in me 
to expect friendship from INIr. Clinton. I have too many rea- 
sons to believe that he rcLcards me with iealousv and malevo- 
leiu'c. Still, this alone ought not to have induced me to re- 
fuse Tuy advice to the canvassers. Some pretend, indeed, but 
none can believe, that I am prejudiced in his tavor. I have 
not even seen or spoken to hin\ since January last." 

Nevertheless, three nionths atler these words were written, 
Governor Clinton nominated him to the berich of the Supreme 
Court of the State. Colonel Burr preferred to retain his seat 
in the Senate, and decUned the judgeship. 

The attention of tho public was soon drawn from queSStions 
alVecting a single State to one hi whieh all the States were 
equally concerned. For the second time, the young nation 
w;is to choose chief nuigistrates ; or, to speak more correctly, 



A SENATOR, 191 

a Vice-President^ for tliero could bo no competition for tlio 
first oflice in the people's gift, while George Washington wan 
willing to serve them in it. There was an opposition, it is 
true; but its force was directed chiefly against Hamilton's 
measures ; and as soon as it Avas known that General Wash- 
ington had consented to serve another term, the ho[>es of the 
opposition were limited to the election of a Vice-President, in 
place of Mr. Adatris. 

At that time, the reader must bear in mind, no one was 
directly nominated for the oflice of Vice-President. The 
Constitution recpiired each presidential elector to vote for two 
persons to All the two highest offices; the man who received 
the greatest number of votes was declared President, and he 
who received the next highest number was declared Vice- 
President. At the first presidential election ever held, the 
vote of the electoral college was as follows : For Geoi-ge 
Washington, 69 votes (the whole number) ; John Adams, 34 ; 
.Fohn Jay, 9 ; Robert 11. Harrison, 6 ; John Rutledge, 6 ; 
John Hancock, 4 ; George Clinton, 3 ; Samuel Huntingdon, 2 ; 
John Wilton, 2 ; James Armstrong, 1 ; Edward Telfair, 1 ; 
Benjamin Jjincoln, 1. Mr. Adams, therefore, became Vice- 
President though he received one less than a majority of the 
whole number of votes. At that election there was nothing 
like an organized opposition. Every elector's first choice was 
General Washington ; and for the second office named the 
favorite son of his own State, or a man i^articularly admired 
by himself. 

But now there was opposition ; of which more will be said 
in another chapter. At present the object of that opposition, 
as just remarked, was to elevate one of their own party to the 
Vice-Presidency. George Clinton, Governor of the State of 
New York, the man distinguished above all others in the Uni- 
ted States for his opposition to the adoption of the federal 
Constitution, was the candidate upon whom a majority of the 
party fixed their hopes, and upon whom its strength was finally 
concentrated. But, among the names mentioned in private 
circles and in puljlic prints for the oflice, was that of Aaron 
Burr. Indeed, for a short period, it seemed uncertain wlio 



ll>2 MKK OV AAUON HUKU. 

would 1)0 tho I'amliduto oC tlio o|)positiou in sonn' of tlio 
nortliorn States, Clinton or niirr ! 

Kiiliis Kinji' boii'aa to be alarmed for tlio snecoss of IMr. 
Adams. September IV, 1792, wo tind him writing to llaniil. 
ton in this n\anner: " If the enemies of tho government are 
iseeret and \mited, we shall lose J\lr. Adams. J>nrris industri- 
ous in his eanvass, and his object is well understood by our 
antis. ]\[r. Edwards is to make interi'st for hiui in Oonneeti- 
eut, and Mr. Dallas, who is here, and quite in tho oirele i>f tho 
governor and the party, inforuis us that ^fr. Burr will be sup- 
ported as Viee-President in IVmisylvania. Should ,letU'rsc>Ji 
and his friends unite in the projeet, tho votes of JMr. Adams 
may be so reduced, that though more nuuierous than those of 
any other person, he u\ay decline the otUeo. Nothing which 
has heretofore hapi>eued so decisively proves the inveteraey 
of the oj)posltion. Should they succeed in degrading ]Mr. 
xVdanvs, much woidd be to be apprt^heuded in respect to the 
measures which have received the sanction of government." 

It is but conunon fairness to ren\incl the reader tiiat this let- 
ter was written by a political opi>onent, who could not ho per- 
so/iaUi/ cognizant of Uurr's movenu-uts as a politician. In 
reading letters, to be hereat\er quotcii; the same fact is to bo 
constantly kept in view by those who wish to know tho truth 
respecting the man and his times. 

Hamilton replies to Mr. King that he is astonished to hear 
of Kiu'r's apjiearance as a candidate. The Secretary o\' the 
Treasury was evidently pu/./.led, and, }>erhaps, a little alarnunl. 
A few days alter, he wrote to a friend (whose name has not 
been revealed by the editor of his works) a long letter depre- 
cating the advancement of Burr, and denouncing him in the 
strouiTCSt lanuuaire that even his vigorous pen could command. 
After saying that he was not yet quite sure that ''liurr's ap- 
pearance on the stage was not a diversion in favor of 3lr. 
CUnton," he proceeds as follows : 

" Mr. Clinton's success I shonld thii\k very nnfortnnate ; I 
am not for trusting the government too much in the hands of 
its enemies. Hut still, Mr. C. is a man of }n-operty, and in 
private life, so far as I know, of probity. I fear the other 



A HENATOJi. 193 

^'fntloman is uri[)rinciplc(], both as a puljlic and a privatoman. 
Wh(!n ih(! (JonHtilution wah m d<;Iiljoration, his conduct was 
equivocal ; but its cncmioH, who, I hf.liovc, best undorHtood 
him, <;oiisi(J<;r';d fiirn as witli tli'un. In fact, T take it he Ih for 
or a/^aifiHt nothirif^, hut aH it HuitH his iritcroHt or arubitiori. He 
JH fh-tc.rmiti(;d, as I r;oricoiv(!, to make his way to be tlu) head 
oC the jxjpulai- party, arirl to cYim}), per /as ant ne/as, to Uia 
hi^h(;Ht liotioi'H of the State, and as rnueli }ii;>}ier as eircurnstati- 
COH may jjcririit. Kmbanasscid, as T underBtaiid, in }iis circurni- 
Btan(;(!H, with an extrava^^ant family, l;old, enterj>i'i/in<:(, and 
iritri^^uin;:^, I am mistakf^ri if it be not his ol^ject to play the 
gamc! of confusion, and I feel it to be a religious duty to 
oppose }iis eare(;r. 

*' I fiave hitherto scrupulously al>Ktained from interference in 
(iktctioMs; but the occasion is, in my opinion, of sufJicient im- 
j)ortance to warrant, in this inslanc-e, a departure from that 
rule. I therefore commit my opinion to you without scruple; 
}>ut in perfect confidence. I pledge my character for discern- 
tricnt, that it is incumbent on every good man to resist the 
jirfHcnt design." 

'I'his was written on the 2l8t of September, On the 'Zdih, 
lie wiites to another unnamed person in the same strain. "Mr. 
Jiurr's integrity as an individual," says Hamilton, " is not un- 
impeach(!fl," and, "as a public man, he is one of the worst 
sort. Scci'etly turning lib(!rty into ridicule, he knows as well 
as most men how to make use of the name. In a woid, if 
we have an embryo Ctesar in the United States, 'tis Burr." 

These letters were not designed for the amusement of the 
Secretary's correspondent. In a i'c.w days, Rufus King writes 
back to him, that " care han been taken to pat ov/r friendH at 
the eaKtmard on th.eh- (/nard.'''' 'I'he letters pi'oduc(;d cJJ'ectn^ 
Ave see. 

To General C. C. Pinckney of South Carolina, Hamilton 
writes to the same jmrport, and urges him to promote the elec- 
tion of tru'u friendly to the administration. As he denounced 
Burr in his northcni letter's, he assails ilefferson in his south- 
ern — Jefferson, his colleague in the cabinet. "'"^I'ls suspected 
by some," he says, "that the j>lan is only to divide the votes 

9 



194 LIFE OP AARON BLiRR. 

of the northern and middle States to let in Mr. Jefferson by 
the votes of the South, I will not scruple to say to you, in 
confidence, that this also would be a serious misfortune to the 
government. That gentleman whom I once very mucJi es- 
teemed., but who does not permit me to retain that sentiment 
for him, is certainly a man of sublimated and paradoxical im- 
aginations, entertaining and propagating opinions inconsistent 
with dignified and oi'derly government." 

Five days later, the active Secretary of the Treasury whites 
another letter upon Burr, but in a much more guarded man- 
ner. "My opinion of Mr. Burr," he remarks, with admirable 
consistency, " is yet to form, but according to the present 
state of it, he is a man whose only political principle is to 
moun% at all events^ to the highest legal honors of the nation, 
and as much further as circumstances will carry him. Impu- 
tations, not favorable to his integrity as a man, rest upon him, 
but I do not vouch for their authenticity." 

On the 21st of September, then, he w^as willing to pledge 
his character for discernment, that Burr was an embryo Csesar. 
On the 15th of October, his opinion of the individual was yet 
to form. The good Hamilton was a man of very ardent feel- 
ings ; he was devoted to the support of the system he had 
created ; and was apt to give way to a too sweeping denunci- 
ation of the men whom he disapproved. And besides, his cor- 
respondent of September was, probably, a man he could more 
implicitly trusty than he could him of October. 

But these denunciations might as well have been spared. 
It is certain, that neither Burr nor his friends entertained a 
serious thought of his competing for the Vice-Presidency. 
He received just one vote. Of the eight electors of South 
Carolina, seven gave their second vote for John Adams ; one 
for Aaron Burr. The number of electors had increased, in 
four years, from 69 to 132. George Washington again re- 
seived the whole number. For John Adams, 77 votes were 
cast ; for George CHnton, 50 ; for Thomas Jefferson, 11; for 
Aaron Burr, 1. This single vote, given by a personal friend, 
probably, may have been of some importance to Burr, in asso- 
ciating his name, in the popular mind, with the office. 



A SENATOR. 195 

For six years, Colonel Burr played a distinguished, and 
occasionally, a conspicuous part in the Senate of the United 
States. And that is nearly all we know of him as a Senator. 
He was renowned as an orator, but no speech of his exists, 
except in fliint outline. John Taylor writes a note to him, on 
one occasion, in which he uses this language : " We shall leave 
you to reply to King : first, because you desired it ; second, 
all depends on it ; no one else can do it ; and the audience 
will expect it." There are allusions m the political papers of 
the day to a great speech delivered by Burr in opjDosition to 
Jay's treaty, which evidently gained him much applause. 
It is spoken of as though every one was acquainted with it ; 
as we should allude to one of the well-known speeches of Clay 
or Webster. liufus King, I am enabled to state, was of 
opinion that Burr's talents as a debater were overrated. In 
conversing upon those times, Mr. King would say that Burr 
had a rare faculty in summing up a discussion, but that he 
added to it tew ideas of his own. He never opened a debate. 
But where a question had been discussed to exhaustion, he 
knew how to use well the vast stores of information which 
had been elicited, and to set in new and dense array the argu- 
ments that had been used by others. This faculty, aided by 
his persuasive and emphatic manner, made him a favorite 
speaker ; and the more, as he never wearied an audience by 
prolixity. 

That he was an industrious member is indicated by the 
number of committees upon which he served. The records 
show, however, that he was not generally in his place during 
the first and lust days of a session. We may infer from his 
correspondence that he was full of occupation of some kind in 
Philadelphia. He frequently alludes to the heaps of unopened 
letters upon his table. 

He acted with the liberal, or Republican party, invariably. 
He contended for an open Senate, session after session, till, in 
1794, the measure was carried by a vote of nineteen to eight. 
He supported the resolution that " every printer of newspapers 
may send one paper to each and every other printer of news- 
papers within the United States, free of postage, under such 



196 LIFE OF AAKON BURR. 

regulations as the Postraaster-Goneral shall provide." He fa- 
vored tlie admission of Albert Gallatin to serve as a Senator, 
which M-as opposed on the ostensible ground that he had not 
been a citizen of the country for the recjuisite nine years. He 
took the lead in opposing Chief Justice Jay's mission to En 
£rland, for the twolold reason that it was unnecessary to send 
any minister at all to England at that time ; and that it was 
contrary to the spirit of the Constitution, impolitic and unsafe, 
to select an embassador from the bench of the Supreme Court. 
All measures tending to the support and comfort of the Fiench 
in their struggle with the leagued despotisms of Europe, found 
in Bnrr an advocate. In a word, he was a leader and cham- 
pion of the party which acknowledged Jefferson as its chifef, 
mul boasted the adherence of Madison and Monroe. 

Afti)- l>in'r's downfall, Jefferson used to say that he had 
never liked him ; and that, at the very height of Burr's pop- 
ularity, he had habitually cautioned JVIadison not to trust him 
too far. " I never," wrote Jefferson once, " thought him an 
honest, frank-dealing man ; but considered him as a crooked 
gun, or other perverted machine, whose aim or shot you could 
never be sure of." ]>ut this was in 1807. There is abundant 
proof, that, in the full tide of bis senatorial career, Burr's 
standing, both with the leaders and with the masses of his 
party, was only second to that of Jefferson himself. 

Take this incident, for example. In 1704, the unpopular- 
ity of Gouverneur Morris, the American minister in France, 
was at its height. The republicans of Paris, and the repub- 
licans of the United States, were aware of his utter want of 
sympathy with the Revolution, and were clamorous for his 
recall. General AVashington had let tall an intimation of his 
willingness to yield to their desire, and to appoint a meniber 
of the opposition hi his place. Accordingly, a caucus of the 
Republican Senators and Representatives was called to select 
a candidate to be proposed to the President for the mission. 
The caucus agreed to reeonunend Colonel Burr. 'My. Mad- 
ison and Mr. MoTiroe were nunnbers of the committee ap- 
pointed to wait upon General Washington, and communicate 
the preference of the caucus ; and in the interview with the 



A SENATOR. 197 

President, Mr. ]\[;ulison was tlie spokesman. After he.iring 
the messas^e, General Wasliiiigtou was silent for a lew' nio- 
nu'iits. Then he said, it had been the rule of his public life 
never to iioiniiiate for a high and responsible olHce a man of 
■whose inte'jritf/ he was not assured. He had not contitlence 
in Colonel Burr in that respect, and therefore must decline 
nominating him. The committee retired, and reported the 
result of the interview. The caucus unanimously resolved to 
adhere to their nomination, and requested the committee to 
inform the President of the fact. General Washington was 
evidently irritated by the second proposal of an otfensivo 
name, and replied with warmth that his decision was irrevo- 
cable. He added, apologetically, " I will nominate you, Mr. 
Madison, or yon, Mr. Monroe." Madison replied that he 
had, long ago, made up his mind not to go abroad. The 
committee, upon reporting the result of the second confer- 
ence to the caucus, found it more inflexible tlian ever ; ami 
were instructed to go a third time to the President, and say 
that Colonel Burr was the choice of the Republican Senators 
and Representatives, aiui that they would make no other rec- 
ommendation. Tills message was delivered to the Secretary 
of State, who, knowijig the President's feelings on the sub- 
ject, declined delivering it. Colonel Monroe was finally 
selected. 

Reflecting upon this circumstance, the idea loiU occur to 
the individual long immersed in the reading of that period 
tliat this invincible distrust of Colonel Burr was perha[)S im- 
planted, certainly nourished, in tlie mind of General Washing- 
ton by his useful friend and adherent, Alexander Hamilton, 
Hamilton was not a person to conceal from General Washing 
ton his repugnance to the ruan wliose career he felt it a relig 
ious duty to oppose. Washington had trusted and ai>plauded 
Burr in the Revolution. Whence this xitter, this resolute dis- 
trust, if not derived from the minister in whose sagacity and 
honesty the President , had such absolute faith? Another 
suspicion steals over tlie immersed intellect. The remarkable 
pertinacity of the democratic caucus onay have been partly 
owing to the desirableness of reniovuig an unmanageable 



ins LIFK OK AAKON lUTRK. 

c!U\(litl.'vt<> (lii(H> t,lu>us!iiul inik's iVoin the scono of tho noxt 
pVCs'uh'itli.Ml t'U>('li(>n. 

From (ti.it (■(iiit(s( Ihc prooinincMico of Gonornl W.ashiiiojton 
wns to be rcmoviMl, mid :i /^•<\'^idtiif \v:vs tc) bo clioson. .TelVrr- 
son \v;is llu» flioii'i> of !i majority ol' llm lv(']>iiblii'.:iiis ; bdt;, 
t^iiUH' tho hist^ ch'otion, Ihirr \vm\ m;uh> surpiisinu; advnncos in 
poimlarity ami im|iorlaiu'o. (u>or«;o Orinton was oclipsod. 
Umr was cvtMyw licic* spoken of as tho K.oi)ublican dioioo for 
tho soooud t)lhoo, and thoro woro oorlainly a vospoclabk* !\nni- 
bor of porsons in tho country who proforrod hin» for tho liist. 
AVo liiid ninnoious indioat ions of this in tho lottors ami i>apors 
of tho tinio. A gontlomau wiilos from Boston to Hamilton, 
Dcccinhor !)th, l';"!>0: " \(>ur Jud<;-o Smith sont lottcM-s to 
somo of (un- olootors, and, 1 bi>liovo, to Now llanipsliiro, 
Bolioitini;' votos for Hurr vory strongly, and rather ])rossini^ 
for .K'iforson." Hamilton writes to Kufus King- (then in l<iU- 
ropo), Deeombor 10th, ITSIO : " Our Jinxioty has been extreme 
on tlio subjeot ol' \hc eiet'tion for President. It' wo may trust 
our information, wliioli wt> have every rt'ason to trust, it. is 
now deeulod that iwitlur JejlVrfion. nor .liitrr oan bo I'resi- 
diMit. *■ * * The event will not a little mortify Burr. A'ir- 
ginia has given him only one vote." 

Wo may inter from this languag<\ that there was a period 
of lli(> eanvass wlien Han\i!ton, the brains and nervo of the 
Fi'doral party, apprehended the poKfiil>/7ifi/ of Aaron Burr's 
suooeoding General Wasiiington in tho presidential ehair! 

But, not to dwi>ll upon this eampaign — sinoe a more stirring 
and a more dooisive one awaits us — tho res\dt of it was as fol- 
lows : .lohn Adams rot'oivt'd 71 votos; Thomas Jolferson, 08; 
Th(Mnas rinekney, ,'>;) ; Aaron Jiurr, ;K) ; Samuel Adams, 16 ; 
Oliver Kilsworlh, 11 ; Oeorgo Clinton, 7 ; John Jay, 5 ; James 
Iredell, '2 ; tioorgo Washington, '2 ; John Henry, 2 ; Sanuiol 
Johnson, "J ; 0. 0. Pineknoy, 1. So John Adams beeamo Pres- 
ident, Thomas .lotVerson, Vieo-President ; and Aaron Burr 
was eiMispioiiously before tho eonntry as a eandidate for those 
eoveted places. Of tho ;U1 electoral votes east for l^urr, Ten- 
nessee gavv him a ; Kentucky, -t ; North Carolina, ; \'ir- 
ginia, 1 ; Maryland, 3 ; Pennsylvania, 13. Not a vote did ho 



A SKNATOR. 199 

get from a Puritan State ; nor did JefTerHon. New England 
was as PVideral as she was Puritanical, and had no vote for tiie 
anti-Federal grandson of her Pnritan-in-ehief This fact does 
not 'countenance Jolin Adams's emphatic assertion, that the 
capital uf)on whicfi iiurr embarked in the business of politician 
was the fame of his father and grandfather. 

While thus ColonelBurr had been striding toward the higli 
places of the world, events of importance had occurred in his 
own household. Before entering upon the decisive period of 
ills political life, let us pause here for a monnjnt and see how 
he appeared, in the day of his glory, as a husband, as a par- 
ent, and as a master. 

As years rolled on and cares increased, the letters of Mrs. 
JJurr to her husband became longer, and less in the style that 
Juliet would have used in writing to banished Jtomeo. But 
they were warm, confiding, and elegant ; as his were to her. 
They were the letters of a careful and devoted wife to a hus- 
band she was proud of, and desired above all things to help 
and gratify. To her he confided every thing. His business 
was left partly in her care, and with her he conversed upon 
his political plans, lie sometimes gave her information to be 
communicated to his political friends in New York. Occa- 
sionally, during the session of Congress, he would hurry away 
upon the adjournment of the Henate on Friday, to meet hia 
wife at Trenton, and after spending Saturday and Simday in 
her society, return on Sunday night to Philadelphia. To the 
hist, she was a happy wife, and he an attentive, fond husband. 
I assert this positively. The contrary has been recently de- 
clared on many platforms ; but I pronounce the assertion to 
be one of the thousand calumnies with which the memory of 
this singular, amiable, and faulty being has been assailed. Ko 
one now lives who can, of his own personal knowledge, speak 
of the domestic life of a lady who died sixty-two years ago 
But there are many still living whose parents were most inti 
mately conversant witli the interior of Richmond Hill, and 
who liave heard narrated all the minute incidents of the life 
led therein. The last of the old servants of the ffimily died 
only a short time ago ; and the persons best acquainted with 



200 LIFE OP AARON BURR. 

the best part of Burr's character ^ire still walking these streets 
Ills own letters to his wife — all respect, solicitude, and affec- 
tion — confirm the positive asseverations of these. I repeat, 
therefore, that Mrs. Burr lived and died a satisfied, a confid- 
ing, a beloved, a trusted wife. 

Soon after her liusband "turned politician," her health, 
never vigorous, began to liiil, and her maladies at length con- 
centrated into a cancer of the most virulent and offensive de- 
scription. Site lingered long in anguish. Her husband, both 
by personal attentions and by the advice which he sought 
from the most eminent i)hysicians, did mnch to relieve her suf- 
ferinirs — did all that mortal aid could do. He studied her 
case. He described her symptoms to his friend, Dr. Benjamin 
Rush, of Philadelphia, and concerted with him a new treat- 
ment. But nothing availed to stay the ravages of the disease. 
He i)roposed at one time to leave Congress, that he might de- 
vote himself exclusively to attending upon her. She besought 
him not to do so, and he remained in Phi]adel})hia till her dis- 
ease assumed a form that threatened speedy dissolution. She 
became, at length, an object most pitiable to contemplate ; and 
in the spring of 1794, death relieved her sufferings, and de- 
prived of their mistress the heart and home of Aaron Burr. 
They had lived together twelve years — twelve hajjpy and tri- 
umphant years. 

Burr was not given to sentiment. It was his principle not 
to mourn over an irrevocable calamity. " The best compliment 
yon can pay me," he used to say to his wife, " is to be cheerful 
Avhile I am absent." If he did not visibly grieve over her 
death, to the last day of his life he sj^oke of her in terms of 
em])hatic and unqualified admiration. Among the very last 
words he ever spoke, was a sentence like this : " The mother 
of my Theo, was the best woman and finest lady I have ever 
known." 

His daughter, a rosy little girl of eleven, was all that now 
made his house a home. From her hifancy his heart and 
mind had been interested in that most fascinating of employ- 
ments, the culture of a being tenderly beloved. AVitli what 
unwearied assiduity he pursued the sweet vocation ! His let- 



A SENATOR. 201 

tors, written from his senatorial desk at Philadelphia, snow 
that his home thoughts wore divided between the sick mother 
and the studious chikl ; and when tlie mother's sufferings were 
over, the daugliter's improvement absorbed his care. He pur- 
sued this darling object intelligently. " Cursed etlects of 
fashionable education !" he writes to his wife, in Theodosia's 
((•nth year, " of which both sexes are the advocates, and 
yours eminently tlie victims. If I could foresee that Theo. 
would become a mere fashionable woman, with all the attend- 
ant iVivolity and vacuity of mind, adorned with whatever 
grace and allurement, I would earnestly pray God to take her 
forthwith hence. But I yet hope, by hei', to convince the 
world wliat neither sex appear to believe — that women have 
souls !" 

He appears to have gone to the opposite extreme. In her 
tenth year she was reading Horace and Terence, in the orig- 
inal Latin, learning the Greek grammar, speaking French, 
studying Gibbon, practicing on the piano, taking lessons in 
dancing, and learning to skate. Like all her race, she Avas 
proi'ocious, and was accounted a prodigy, and she really was a 
cliild of superior endowments ; but no girl often could pursue 
such a course of study without injury. Doubtless, the deli- 
cacy of her health, in after years, was due to this excess- of 
study in childhood. As a child, however, she seemed to 
thrive upon the too luxurious diet ; for though she had the 
fmiily dimiuutiveness, she was a plump, pretty, and blooniing 
girl. Tlie moral precocity, which is so much more deadly than 
mental, she escaped, as it appears she told fibs, begged oft' 
from practicing, and was excessively fond of a holiday ; which 
n\ay have kept Horace and Gibbon from destroying her. Tlie 
plan of her education was_not merely devised by her father, 
but he personally aided in carrying out every part of it. He 
explained her lessons, he gave minute directions to her nu- 
merous instructors, he would liave nothing learned by rote, he 
encouraged her with connnendation, he gently ridiculed or 
sharply rebuked her hidolence. When he was in Philadelphia, 
ho required her to write to him frequently. He replied as 
otlen, mentioning each of her mistakes in spelling and gram- 

9* 



'2i)'2 t, I 11' ir, OK A A i:, o N h n K. if.. 

iiiMi-, ifiiiiirkinf»- ii|><mi IIk^ \vritin<j; and styles of licr liisl, IcMor, 
oomimriiiu; it, willi J'oiiiht clloils, Mini :i\v:inliiijj; jn-niHu or 
Maiiir, MS lie llioiiolil, slir dcsdrvnd, IHm loUors to luT iiro 
xovy kiiKl, very tliuii;^lit Till, voiy iii'^cMiioiis, olVcii very wiso 
jind <>'ood. 

liiiir iiilu'iilcd l.lu> tin.' i»cd!i<>'o,t>io:il instinct. One of his 
opiHt.lt's lit' (loiK'liidcs tliiis: " lid nu^ «<■<• Ik'W liMiiilsoincly yoii 
«'Mn Hiihsdrilio your iimmic in your iicxl. Ictlcr, about tluK ni/A'." 
In iinotlicr, Iu< li'll.s Ucv how iiiiich |ilcMsiirt' it \\'ould i^ivc liini 
il'slio ('(Mild iroiitrivt' to Iul;' into her l^|(,lc'rs occMsionally a Hcvi\[) 
of 'rorciifc, n|U()|>os. Soiiu'linn's he cxnltrt ovor tlio dorrcet- 
in»ss (»(' her hist h-ltiu', It'lliii!;' her he liMiJ showed it to Dr. 
Iviisii, or some other iVieiHl, who thoii'dil, it luiist liMve lieeu 
written by a j^irl ol'sixtei'ii. Il(( reminds her to sit up straiylit, 
else sIk^ will <;o into a e,onsuiii|ition ; and then " (iirewell jinpa, 
iMri'well pleasure, liirewell lile." I le i^ives her tiie most mi- 
mile direetittns respi'etinj*; the style Miid Mrrani>'emeiit. ol' Iter 
letters; tells her tliMt he iie\cr permits oiii' of hers to reimiiu 
uiiMiisw cred a. single dMy, and deiiiMiids of her the same proiiij)- 
titiide. 

The iiiorMi m<I\ iee w hich he yive.s her is, most, of it, vt'ry e.veel- 
leiit. 1 le insists upon lu-r treating her p)vernoss with the most 
poHeet respeet and eonsideration. "Ivinneniber," lu> sMys, '' that 
ono in the situation ot' madame Iims a thousand thiny;s to fret 
her temper ; and yon know that one out ol" humor I'or any eaiiso 
whatevt'r, is apt t»t vent it. on every pm'soii tliMt happens to bo 
ill the wMy. We must learn to beivr tbest* things; and, lot 
nu> ti'll you, that you \\ ill always feel much l)etter, miieh hap- 
pier, lor havin;;' borne with seri'iiity the sple(>n of any ono, 
than if you had returned spleen for spleen," Jslotliini;- eouhl 
be bett«'r thnn that. In the saim^ letter he remarks: " I liavo 
olU'ii sei'u madame .at table, and other situations, pay yoti tlio 
ntmiKst attention, oilor you twiMity civilities, while you ap- 
l>eared scarcely sensible that she was speaking to you ; or, at 
the most, replied with a cold rtuurrif, without even a look of 
satisfaction or complacency. v\ moment's rellectioii will con- 
vince you that this conduct will be naturally construed into ar- 
roo-jiuco ; as if you thought that all attention was due to you, 



A HKS At O k.. 20? 

arj'J a« if you fcJt above j-J^v/'n/ th« Jjf*a»t to any V>dy. I 
kri'j-A' that you abbor «ttch nlK, a«d that you are inrsa- 

pable of J^ibg HfituauA hy thern. V'd you expo*^ yourself to 
t; '; ';';. .re witJ*Ottt )ftt/;ri'li«g Of kijowing it. I helu^ve yott 
'it. Ob!><;rv<; how Natalie replug t// the 

. „ ,,>, .^. ,;i ifc o0'er<yl to her.*' That, t/^o, i* fc'yuftd 

. . -/. 

iiut there i«, o<yja*lorjAlIy, a i/a»»5age in hi« l/^tt^^ri* t/-» h«r 

V. '.ich ham tha Chif^ii: taint. The wor»t example of 

'e folio • i/i ca*:/; you Jiho'iM dine in ^jorri- 

j., — ^, i -^li^irmt you of one cirT- " -*-"':^;, by 

a tf Jf';;.;^ ;, ,n to whi/;h you r/jiiy elevate* y. in her 

e>V:':r;j. h-.'; ij» ft gTcat a4vo<?ate for a very plain, rather ah- 
Jet in children, a«yott Wiity »ee by her condu/;* with 
;: , v. Be ' di«h; 

x:.-i\ h. j,.. ... ■-•■' ' ■ r, aj-j-d 

r^ry Hf/o.rxa'jl. J a ^^IjtJsij 

of V, if.'; : a,'>d if more of any thing to eat or drink m (ff^tA, 
4<-j::h:ti it. If they a*k a ratuifm — J/'a/xi thinkn U n/A fjoodff/r 

T.' 3 r^» noYuattt/Ui by YM'X'Xjmirr^ 

i'h<: './.:. ';, ,. "'me an4 eonntry, a« well 

a* one of the n. never, of course, conou 

: . ; ^x/nque«t of l,Min or tire^k, bttt Frej</4i »l<e m^ade 
e;jt;reiy \%i(t own; and wrote an I ^^e 

r,byfo] -' - -^ 

-;h! 

h .f; al*o. at hi^ • ^/f)V €hh trann^hiium of one ff( 

H' ii'orkM irom i- ren/^i* into i ^ and partly exe- 

.. Jf/-r fettfier r • ed, t'^ direct 

•r *'< f.'^'-.'i- '.■ .. From thig 

.; ; »ay to h^r, 

** /ie V h^'art 'mA it will coo«ol« me i>r all the 

evil# of Jife." Ai*d what a ';r wa« *he to him I Krom 

the age o:' d, 

th': -er 

dav ■ • _ . 'Ai\ 

i ■■•' -■- J - ;■ -■ — . . -. , , 



'..MM 1. 1 II' K <> I' A A i; tt N It !■ i; i:. 

(\>loiM>l Stone, ill liiM liil't' <>(' r»i';u>l., {\w Iiul'mn cliicf, o'ivcs 
us 11 |i|P!is!iiit. «j;iiiii|)So of Tlii'iMlosiM. UiiiT ill ]\vr lourlrciith 
Y<'iir. Siic W'MS (licM !i <;in\\!i woiiKiii, Miul r('i<;iu'(l supremo 
over licr liillii'i',^ liodse (liiiiii);' liis lonm" absence ;il lli(> S(>;it ol" 
ji'oveniinenl. r>i;iiil, diiriii!.'; (Hie of I lie elosing yours ol' iMin's 
l!ieii;il()i-slii|), visiled I 'liiladelpliin, \\lier<>, lor some lime, tiio 
liiM);nirK'eiil Iiidi.'in w ;is :i liisliioiiahle lion. Colonel I liirr lijavo 
liim M (iiniier |i;ii'lv, \\ liicli Voliiev, 'I'alh'yrniul, aiid oilier nota- 
Itililies nllendetl. The incideiils of 1 linl eiilerlMiniiient used 
lo he I'el.'iied by Wuvi lor fori y years alUu' llu'y oeeurred, and 
tlii*y Inive been eomnuiuieated lo nu^ almost in his own words, 
l>iil, niirorlnnalely, I lie cliief's lOnj^'lisli, llioii^ii innooeni, and 
inlinilely aniusin;;' lo llie jjfiiests, ean not bo n'pi'aled to a 
Distidious |>ubru\ and, llierelore, llie himuM's of thai ban((iu>t 
must rem.iin for e\ er iiiireeorded. Sullieo it to say, that tlio 
l^'ri'iu'limeu were di'li<^hled with the lion, who roared his best 
lor their pleasure. Ueforo Urant's leaving" riiihuU'lphia Tor 
New York, C\)loiiel liurr ^aviUiim a nolo of introdiietion to 
Ills daui;'liti'r, in whioh ho ro«jueste<l hor to show bim ovory 
attontiou. 

"JMiss Theodosia," says (\)Iom>l Stone, who derived tlu* iu- 
lbrm;iti(>n iVoin Kiirr hiinsell', '' roei'ivod llu> t'orest-i'iru*!' with 
all the eourlesy and liospitiility sun'ii'i>sti>d ; and perlornu'd tlio 
honi)rs ol" her ralluM-'s liouse in a iiianm*r that must ha\'t» biMMi 
ns yinitilyin!;' to hei- absent parent as it was (Creditable to lier- 
S(>ll'. Anion;;,' other alti'iilions, slu> !;;n c hiiii a dinnerparty, 
select ing lor her !j;uests some of llu> most eminent i;'entlemen 
in tlio cily, anioni;' whom were l»isho|) IMooro and Doctors 
l»ard and Mosaek. In writing' to her l;\llu'r upon (Iu> subJtH't, 
she gave a Ion;;,- and sprii-iitly account ol'tlie entertainment. 
She saiil that, in makiii!!,' the prelinrmary arran_<);oments, sho 
had been somewhat^ at a loss in the selection of such dishes as 
wouKl probably suit I he patah> ot' her principal _i>'Uost. lieini!,* 
.1 savai;'(c warrior, and in view ol' the many talcs she had 
heard, ol" 

""Hio oaimibiils tliivt ouoh oliior oat, 

'i'lui iiiUliropopli;ii;i, ami wum whoso hortda 
IKi pxnv liouoiith IIumt shoiildor.i,' 



A WKNATOK. 205 

h)\<' ;i(liJf!'], Hportivcly, lliat kIjo IukI a inind to lay Uk; liosjjital 
un<lcr contribtiiion for a }iuin«n Ixjad to Lo Horvod up like a 
boar'H hf;!i(l in uri(!i(,'iit hall Ffaibaiic, lint, afUii' all, hHo found 
liirn a rnoHt ChriHtian and civilized guoHt in hiH tnannoi'H." 

Ominj^ tli«fHc yoarw of gi-ffatncHH, Cfjionol I»nrr, liko rnoHt 
otiioi' poiHonH in hin M|)l)<5r<!, wan an ownor of Hlav<;H, who wart} 
employed an }ionHoh<;ld Horvants. 'I'hat ho wana kind and con- 
hideiato maHtcr to tlietn, hiw lotterH to ThcodoHia, and Ihew 
h-ttei'H to liirn, give toitchinpf evidence. " I'oor 'J'oni," ho 
vviilCH of a Hcrvant who had met with an accid(!nt, " J hope 
you tak(! fj;()<)(l care of him. //' he ia conJJ,n('j/ hy Idn Ia<j^ ka 
rnnHlpay f,he yrc/iUr aUc/rdiou to hin rwdlny <i'nd wrUiny .^'' (hm 
of hi.s letterH from Philadelphia to TheodoHia, concludes thuH; 
" Alexin often hids me to Hcnd you Home polite and rewpectful 
meHHa{.^e on his part, which I liave hitherto omitted. He is a 
faithful, good boy ; upon our return home he J)0[M'H you will 
teach him to read." Another letter alludes pleasantly U) two 
of his servants. " Mat's child," he tells Theodosia, " shall not 
be christened until you shall be pleased to indicate tlic time, 
j;lace, mariner, and name. I have promised Tom that he shall 
take me to I'hiladel)(hia, if there be sleighing. The poor fel- 
low is alniOHt r.i;i/,v ;iI,out if. ffe. 1m iiiii-r^rtiiiiinf^ ail t[i(; Kods 
for snow." 

He corresponded with his Bcrvants, when away from h'^rne. 
Their letters to liim are very artless and pleasing. " We arc 
li;if)[)y to hear," says " Peggy" in one of her letters, " that Sam 
and (Jreorge and the hoi'ses are in good order, and all the fam- 
ily gives their love to them," Another of Peggy's epistlen 
concludes thus: "But, master, I wish to beg a favor of you ; 
jdf.'Siseto grant it. 1 iiave found there is a day-sch'>ol., ke[»t 
by an rOderly man and his wife, near to our house, and if mas- 
ter is willing that I should go to it for two months, I think it 
wouiri be of great service to me, and at the same time I will 
not neghict my work in the h<;use, if you plefiso, sir." J'eggy 
received an immediate answer, granting her request. She re- 
plies in a \'i;vi days : " I go to the school, since master is will- 
ing, and I like the teacher ^nw^ much. He pays great atten- 
tion to my learning, and I have t(!ached Nan<',y her letters ever 



'10(\ ].\ V K t> K A A KOTN nil RK. 

nhuM\ yoii Imvc hvvu sri'iic, wliioli I (liinU will ho of ns iiiucli 
HiTvioo to luT iiM if she Weill lo Noliool. Wv .'ii'o !ill woll nt 
prosiMit, .'iinl 1 liopc tliiil you :\yv (lir ,simu>," 8I10 tells licr 
limMlci', ill tlip s.'iiiir lrll<'r, (li;il iIhmc !iiim Ihhmi a r(>|-orl in the 
iM|)<'i- lli;il lii< liiiil li(H-ii wciimiiMl in it (liH'l,iiiul lliaitlio lainily 
wovo all vorv nnoMsy alioiil i(, llioiigli (lio nlory was not bo- 
iovi'tl in llio (own, Ilo n'|>lit's iinincdiak'ly (hat h(> is por- 
il'clly well, and lias Iiad no niiario! >\i(li any ono. lie nri>;o8 
Iht (o t';(> to school I'lincluallv, IlianUs hor tor (oachinir Nano}-^, 
and savN ho shall soon go lioino and L';ivo (hom all Now ^'('aI•s' 
pi'os^ails. 

.Ml (his is very ainiaMo. 'INioro ninor lived, indeed, !V more 
<'oni|ile((>Iy (i)>ifiiif>h' \\\;\\\ llian Aaron ihirr. (lenerous, thonyht- 
i'lil lor I he pleasure o\' olliers, eawless ol' his own, a pleasant, 
eoniposed, invineihly polile person, orodulous oven, easily 
(aKen in by plausible sharpers, but wi(h (hose soOtM" qualitioa 
relieved by eouraeo, (ael, and industry — who could haAO I'oro- 
seen lor sueh a eharaeter (he d(>s(iuy he ojunnnitorod, (ht> in- 
(ainv (ha( blaektats his nameV 

l?ii(, in (his dilVu'ult world, in (his jnsdy-ordored universe, 
to be amiable is not enoU!;h. 

\\\ aneedole, relalod wi(h gii'at aninialion by hinisell', ol' 
this period of his lile, will sulVioe to indioato oi\o of his laulta 
nyaiuvSt soeiety. lie was sitting' in his library reading oiio 
day. A lady entered w ilhtMtl his pereoiving ho\\ and going 
up solVly l>ehiud his el\air, gave him a slap on (he ehook, say- 
ing, "t\)n\e, tell me, what litde h'roneh girl, pray, have you 
l»ad liero ?" 'Pho abruj^tness of (ho tpiostion, and the positive 
n\anuer ol" I he lad\'. vK'v'oived him, and lie doubled i\ot she 
havl made (l\o diseovery. He adnvMlod tlu> (act. AVl\oreui>ou, 
his Tail' iutpiisilross burst into louvl hmghtor at the sueeess of 
\wv artiriee. w hieh she was iuduooii to play otV upon l\ini tVoiu 
the uiore oiremnslaneo ot' having snu>lt n\usk in tl\o room. 

Upon this and olher points (hero will be (ime (o enlarge 
when we reaeh the ovpialory years of his li(o. At present, WO 
musi a(((M\d tvi (he atVairs of the nalii>n. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

THE ERA OF li A. D EEELING. 
TnR 'rriRi™ PnutODB op oun IltsroBY — Partibs hkkoki! tub Rp,voi,ution — Partieb 

AKTKIl TIIK KnVOLirTION — KKflWT Of TUB FllBNOU liKVOLl/TlON UPON AilKKtCAN 
I'OUTKIB — llAMIf^TOW — jBrlrKUKON — TirK TONE OF 80OIBTY ON JeFFBKSON'S KB- 
TlfRN rilOM FllANOB — TlIB DlKKKKKNfJHS BKTWBBN HAMILTON AND JKP-KBKSON — 
KI8B 01' TIfB DkMOCHATIO PaRTY — JOIIN ADAJIB — PUJJLIO EXOITKMB.NT IN 179S. 

Ir was tlK! foiluno of Aaron JJiirr to contribute, in a re- 
markable manner, to the first triinnpli of his party. That the 
reader, not fresh in the early Jiistory of his country, may uti- 
(lerstand the importance of that triumph, it is necessary that 
he should be infornujd or remindcjd of the state of parties, and 
the feeling of the country, and of the (iharacter of certain lead- 
ing persons who flourished at that time. This chapter, then, 
is to be a digression — to be skipped by a reader who is in 
haste, 

" Whig and Tory belotig to natural history," Mr. Jefferson 
used to say. This truth, that i'vi^o communities naturaUy di- 
vide into two parties, one in favor of keeping things as they 
are, the other strenuous for making them better than they are, 
simjjlifies the study of political history, and should always be 
borne in mind by the sttulent. It is not an infallaldo guide 
througli the labyrinth of party politics, but it greatly assists 
the groping explorer. 

An historian might divide our political history into three 
piMiods. The first began with the adoption of the Con- 
stitution, and ended with the election of Jefferson ; a period 
which, in the recent langu.nge of Mr. Scnvard, " gave to the 
country a complete emancipation of tlie masses from the dom- 
ination of classes." The second began with JeiTerson, and 
ended with the annexation of Texas. This was tlie period of 
peaceful democratic rule, the fruit of Jefferson's ideas and 



V'OH I. I 1'" 10 OK A A i: (> N K II i; If. 

Iviirr'M iMt lirM, 'V\\^^ lliinl period l>(',<;;iii wit li 'I'c^ms, mikI will 
end willi I lie liiial Nel lleiiieiil. ol' I lie .sliivery IHi>l)leiii. VV« 
linve now lo do only willi (li:it evi'iiHiil lw(*lv(» years when llie 
new deinoeriilie ide;is eoiiteiided willi old (-iislom Miitl old 
TlioiD'hl in lliiH eoinilry. l\ wms <'iiiiiieiilly !i period ol" " lt;id 
leeliii!,'' ;" ns periods .'ire npl. lo l>e in w hieh iiiirrow opinions, 
MJid (he niirrow virlnes iIimI j-jrow oiil ol' I hem, uri' rudt'ly ns- 
Hlliletl hy the hii'M'r, liMU'coinpreliended ideiis ol'.'l ejrtmter tinio 
ooniiii;!;'. To j^ive :iii ;ide(pi.'ile pieliire of ihal. evenl I'nl ;ni(l 
n\os|. interest in;;' (iiii(> would re(piire m volume, :nid a ).','enins. 
A lew <;liinpsi's arit all that- ean 1h> allorded here. 

Ihitil (Jeoi'!.'"* IN. lie^an to rei;.','!! (I7(10), (lu< political partii'S 
ol' (he American colonies wrvr alioul the sami' as llioso t)f 
J'lin^'land. John Adams, who could hlmsell' rememher as lar 
htwk as IVI.'», has a j^' real, deal (osay, in his diaries and lelttM's, 
ahonl piu'ties and partizims in Am(>ri(^a b(>loro llio Ivinolulion. 
Kesides NVhij^'s and Toric's, ht^ reciu'ds tlier(> was a [tarty for 
lhi> rirtt'iuhr in the colonies. Om* of his JediM'S contains tho 
followiii!'; passa>;e : "• \'oii say, our divisions bt'o'an with I'\>(1- 
(^ralism and aiiti ^\^deralism. Alas I llu*y hi's;!in willi human 
nature; th(>y hav(> existed in America I'rom its lii'sl. plaiilation. 
In (>\ory colony <li visions always pri>vailcd. In New ^'ork, 
Pennsylvania, N'ireinia, IMassaiOiusetts, and all (ln> r(>st, a 
court aiu{ cotoitri/ i>urtj/ /htrt' (t/iiurj/ti ('ontt'/K/td. \\'hi<;- and 
Tory disputed very sharply belore (he Kc\olu(ion, and in 
ovory slt>p duriu;;- tlu> Ivevolulion. Mviu-y measure in Coi\- 
H'ress, IVom I'.'/l to ITsV inclusivi'ly, was disputed with aori- 
nnniy, and decid(>d hy as small majorities as any (pu>stion ia 
«l(>eided in thcsi> days." 

In anothiM- l(>ll(>r of IMr. Adams's, tlie folio wins;" intorosting 
Htalen\(M>t octMirs : "It was r(>ported and hellevtMl (in Iho 
colonies) that (}eor>>e II. had \mifornily resist otl llu* import u 
nitics oC ministiM-s, <;'ov(>rnors, plant (M's, and projtH^tors, to in- 
duce him to extend the system oi' taxation and revenue in 
An\(n'iea, l»y sayinj;", that 'ht> did not understand tlio colonies; 
he wislunl tlu>ir prosperity. 'rh(>y ap|)earod to ho happy at 
presiMit ; and ho w ould not consent to any innovations, thu 
oon«e,|ucuoos o[' which lu> could nt>t fovcvscc' " 



T II K K If. A O I- 15 A IJ r U K L I S d . 209 

SoiJ.sihh; kinj^ ! But, <!JirIy in iIkj ru-xt roign, tlif; "rnini»- 
tcrH, govcMTioi-K, f>lani<;rH, ari'l fjroj<;ctor«" bogari to liavo thoir 
way; and from tliat inomont br^/^an tlic \t\HU>ty of |)arii<;H in 
Atn'-rica, Ffow hIovv tlio loyal f!f)loniHtH wei'O tf> rcsiHl, or 
oven to rotn(»nHtrat(; ! "No king," wroto JoH(;ph lia-A, Ui 
1774, "over had rnoro loyal HubjectH, nor any country more 
h\Yc<;i]<>tinUi colonJHtH tlian the AmoricanH tmre. J, who am 
but a young man, rcmcmbor whon tfio king was alwayM m<;n- 
tioMcd with a roMpcct approaching to adoi-ation, and to be an 
A'uf/HHhman was alone a HiifTicient recommendation to any 
ofllcc or civility. Hut I confcHH, with the greatcHt concern, 
that thoHC liaf)f»y dayM Heem Hwiftly paHHing away," 

Id th(; year f)r<!paratory of the, jlevoliition, Whig and Tory 
were wordH of meaning. Hhall we Hubmit? Shall w<; re- 
Hint V 'I'he iHHU(! waH marked. IJeginning with a minoiity of 
one, the party for rcHiHtance gathered strength with every 
new aggrcHHion, till, in 1770, two thirdw of the native colo- 
niHtH, m John Adanm computed, were in favor of independ- 
(incy. 7'iijo Udrdn ! not rnoi-e ; aw any Htudent of the p<;riod 
will Hoon diHcern. In 1777, it \h qucHtionable if the WhigH 
wer<; even in a majority. We read without KurpriHc, inr hu- 
man nature is human nature even in tin; moHt heroic titncH, 
that when the liritiHh army waH a[)f*roaching, [;eoi>le hantened 
to nail a rag of Tory rcrl to their front doors, and wlien the 
patriot arrriy marched by, the rags of the whole region turned 

The war ended, IJliie was in the ascendant, anrl Ited was 
nowhere. The active rich Tories fled ; the active poor To- 
ries, cowed and sup[>liant, became, as we have seen, a bone <A' 
contention with th(; exultant Whigs. Human nature asserted 
itself, and again there were two f>arties in the country. In 
the nundjerless suits and questions that arose in the State of 
Nf.w York respf'ctingtiu! jjroperty and rights of the ex-'^I'orieH, 
Hamilton and his Schuyler's were the champioiiH of a defeated, 
a |>rostrate fa'',tion. Huir and the (Clintons wer(! the deHind- 
eis of the doctrine that to the victors belonged the spoils of 
victory. 

Next arose the great question of the acc<iptancc or rejec- 



'J 10 I. \ F 11! o r A v i; 1) N nv vi k . 

U'l»\ llu> ii\ti'i»si(y ol" w hi<'h (ho ;i\»m;i>>i> iUi>(l»Mii voiuUm' oai\ 
Know luMlt'mo; ;il>t>ut. lu>i':uiso tlio hisloriim has not V(>t 
omorj^'Oii \vl\i> I'Mii t(>ll tho storv, tlio C\Mistit iititMi was no- 
('t»|tliMl. jiiid s<i ill molit^n. 'Vho l>:i((K^ thou siihsi.hMl, hut. {\u\ 
iiol I'o.'iso. Tho nnti l"\>tlor;»lis(s still ol.-imorod tor nmondmoiits. 
Thov thoii;\h( tho oonti'al (^ovormiuMU loo stronp;, [oo impos- 
inii", ti^o liritish. It roiluoi>tl tlu> iiui>ort:uioo oi' tho Statos. 
A (5»nonu>r, who/htt/ lu'hl his hoiui hiijh ahovo all uumi's, was 
jui iiisisxiiilioaiit i^tlioial in oomparison with tho rmcsiDiCNT ok 
•niic I'm nop SiwrKs! Tho l'\<ihM'aIists, on tho ooutrary, thont^ht 
tho !<~ovonnnont t'atally inotru-iiMit. It hooamo, howovor, tho 
^iV^aioral «h>sirt>, that thi> (.\)nstituti»>n, suoh as it was, sluniM 
havo, at loast, n tair trial. \Vitli that toolins>\ WashingtoiJ 
tiirnod his haok upon tht' homo whoro l»o was aloiu^ a ooutoutod 
i\»an, and !v>uruoyo»l with hoa\y hoart to Now York to or^au- 
iy,o tho uow o'monuuout. 

It must l>o montionod that tho I'ountrv was still tVT»/ Mi- 
^//<V/*. Sooial tlistiuotious woro uiarkoil uiul undift/ufttHf., and 
n n'outKnuan was a utaitltMuan. 'Phoro woro 5iroat laud-owuors 
in tho intoriiu" who hoM tlu^ position in sooioty tliat oountrv 
gvutlotuon uow do iii Kniilaiul. Thoy hail uniuorous touants; 
thoy w oro jiistioos of' (ho poaoo ; ihoy woro olootod, as a matter 
ot' ov>urso, to tho logislaturo ; thoy woro tho </ti»fty of tho 
oouutry. to whom tho oountry, withoiit a robollious thouoht, 
tovik otVits hat. "Sooioty" in tho oitios was oxolusivo. It 
oousistod ot* !V tow uroat t'amilios, wlu> admittod within thoir 
oiroU> only vMVioials aud othor otMtsonnoutial persons. A ii'ontU^ 
man was roally an imposiuo- tiixuro at tliat day. Years at\or tho 
Kovolutiou, John llauooi'k drossod in a stvlo that now, even 
upon tho stage, wo shvuild think rather extravaii'ant. T''pon 
h«s powdered and piii'-iniled l\eatl, he wore a eap of rod velvet, 
whioh eovered, without eoneealing, one ot' white eambrie ; tl\e 
oamhrie heingMurnod over iho velvet, and t'ormiuii' :v border 
two inohes wide. A blue dan\;usk jiown, lined with silk, a 
white stock, a white satin embroidered waisteoat, blaek satin 
broeehovS white silk stookiui;s, red n\oroeeo slippers, silver 
buckles at kiiee and instep, were other artieles of his attire. 



r H K K U. A <> (' J! A () I' v. V. I. / N O . 2 J 1 

A)>ovft fill there wan in hix rnfinrior -a uuu^U-A dij^nity ari'l Hwect- 
ncHH, whicFi wuH not rare at tliat time, hut the vi^ry tradition 
of wfiicli irt now K(;are(!ly known to the people of,' the Unit,*;'! 
Hf,ut,«!H, J'oliteneHrtVaM one of tlif; <!xeIuHive, Huperfieial ^^ood 
tliin^'H wlii<;h democracy lia'l rudely to deHtroy, in order that 
a deeper and better politoneHK m\<i,\\i h<;eorn(; poHHihIe and uni- 
'mrHul ; a politene«H withf^ut any lie« in it. 

'I'lie power of the "^etitry" waH, of courHe, leHHened >>y the 
ltr:volntion. They hnd ucvur been a numerouH chm in the 
f,olruiieH ; and the Jtevolution ruined [>ertjapH one half of 
th(!m, The peace drove a large number to Canmla and V,u- 
^diiiid. Tfie young nation, tfierefore, over which WaMhington 
prenidfid, wan a nation of ruxticM, hut ru«ti(!» who had, an y<!t, 
\)\\y dim perceptionH of tlxfir rightu and power, ruHticH habitu- 
ated to take *;fr their hats to gentlemen who v/i;n-. got up re- 
gardleHH of cxpenwe, afid who rode about in chariotH dnnv/n by 
fo(jr horHCS, or by wix. • 

The French Revolution woke the do/ing giant. 

The firHt delirium over, th(! Vvcxwh had to figlit a continent 
in arrriH, and dijring that enormous contcHt there could not bo 
a n(;utial heart. Ameri<!an politicH, in those yearH, rewolved 
themHijIvea into thiH all-itu-Juding queHtion, W/dnh nUh hIi/iLI 
vHi lukcj Or, which nation Hhall our young republic adopt 
a« ally atid axf/fn/Mr^ France or Knglatid V 

Fear intenHiflfid the excitement with which thin quewtion 
was diHcuHHcd ; for the nation was not yet powerful ; it was a 
boy looking on while giants wrestled. Every one feared for 
the stability of the new, the untried government. Home 
thought it would dissolve into anarchy ; otlusrs, that it would 
(hg<:nerat<! into monarchy; some lived in terror of war; 
others foreboded national bankruptcy. Nothing but an all- 
pervading and cor)stantly-op(!rating fear could, f think, have 
wrought u[) the two parties into sucli a fren/y. This genera- 
tion has witnessed the hmdifig on these shores, amid the 
salute fda thousand guns, and the cfieers of two hundred thou- 
sand excitfffl sj><;f;tators, of the orator Kossuth. J<Vom that 
great furore, judge of the nation's de-lirium when, to its natural 
sympathy with a beloved nation struggling against despots, 



212 1,1 1*" H () V A A K O N 1? V K U . 

Avas ;i(UUh1 !X Ibar of InAuiX (Irnwu into tlio niaolstrom of tlioir 
prodigious AvarfMri". Tlio anK'nt souls, I know, dosirod 'Jiis; 
as lli(» samo tonipi'iauuMUs worc^ for drawl^ig the sword in de- 
fense of Hungary. I>u( iho nation know better; know tliat 
poaee was its oiih/ [»oliey. In time, ti>o, canio slights, insults, 
injuries, tirst fron\ one belligerent, then from the other, to 
mingle rage with the other inllamed passions. 

At the s(>at of government, during this excitoJiient, there 
wtM-i" four men o\' more import ani-e than any others, as well 
fi'om tlu'ir great e.haraeti'rs as their great places. These were 
AVashinii'ton, Hamilton, Adams, and deiVerson. Of Washing- 
ton 1 need not speak. Vov sixty years, the objeet of the nn- 
diseriminating eul(>gy of politieians and rhetoricians, who have 
sought to use his vast popularity*for their own purposes, tlie 
charai'ter oi' \\\o man has been so obscured, tliat to only the 
most studious eyos can it now beeonu> discernible. By claim- 
ing for him every excellence known to human nature, his true 
glory is sacriliccil, and the benclit of his great example squan- 
dered. r>ut I am not to speak oi' him, and ni>cd not, for the 
]KU-( he playt>d in this drama was more passive than active. 
.He was the llock to which the ship of State was moored. The 
gri>at measures of his administration were devised by Ilanvil- 
tiMi, his tirst Secretary of the Treasury, who was the real rnloi 
of the comitrv duriuLT all these twelve years'" of democraev'a 
struggle for supremacy. 

Alexander Hamilton was a shining specimen of a class of 
characters which threat Hritain produces in nund)ers : men of 
administrative ability, oi' active, suggestive intellects, but of 
understandi\igs that will not admit a revolutionary idea — tliat 
is, an idi>a really in advance of their time. These n\en wield 
the tools of gtnernment with dexterity ; with pertuiacity they 
cling to the old nicthods. Hamilton, it must be ever remem- 
beied, was no American ; he never understood America ; and, 
as iu> hiinself confessed, he was ''not the man tor America." 
The Knglish government was his idi^al ; his dream was to 
make America a laroer and better Kn>rland. He was for a. 

* Rutiis Kiujj wivto to ll';imnioii from London, Uuvt tho most popular uie'i 
ai Kn^l;M\a \vor(\ Ih-st, Oooi-go ill., ami, noxt to him, Uoorgv ^\'ashiugtoIl. 



THE ERA OF BAD FEELING. 213 

strong, a ro<j;iilar, an iiii])0,suig govcniincnt ; Ijo Hupporlcd 
Geiicrul Wusliinjjjton in liis luvoos, liLs state dinners, his 
epecclies to Congress, liia birth-day celebrations, and the other 
loiiiis which reminded tlie Republican party of a royal court. 
Ue thought the interested sujjport of the wealthy classes Avag 
necessary to a strong government. He was exactly as much 
of a Democrat as George TIL or William Pitt. In the people 
he had no liiith ; and thought it vain to attempt to convince 
them by argument and fact ; the mob was an unreasoning 
cliiid, to bo coaxed, flattered, used, and, above all, governed. 
This enormous hi-asimikmy against God's image he repeats, 
in great variety of jjlirase, in his private letters. " You are 
your own worst enemies," he once said, in a stump speech, to 
the people of this city. 

The basis of Hamilton's moral character was noble and dis- 
interested ; no man more honorable in his feelings than he ; 
none more generous or moie kind. He loved tlie country of 
his adoption, arul would have died to save it ; that is, to con- 
vert it permanently to his way of tiiinking. He was confident 
that the " crazy old hulk of a Constitution," as he used to 
term it, could not last. A crisis was ai)proaching. When it 
arrived, then the Federalists would save their country by giv- 
ing it a government that could govern. But Hamilton was 
an honorable man : he would stand, he said, resolutely by the 
Constitution till the old hulk did go down ; it should have the 
fairest of fair ti'ials. He was morbidly in earnest. Gouverneur 
Morris, who loved the man, says, in one of his letters, " Our 
poor friend, Hamilton, bestrrxle his hobby, to the great an- 
noyance of his friends." Hamilton had no great hold upon the 
people except as tlie man trusted and preferred by Washing- 
ton. I think Washington liked hini better than any man in 
the United States; for Hamilton, too, was an honest man, and 
he had, what the President had not, a rapidly-suggestive mind, 
and a fluent tongue. Honest, I say ; but not honest as Wash- 
ington was honest. In the maddest party contentions, Wash- 
ington's integrity was never shaken, nor questioned, except 
by fools. ]>ut in the strife of parties, Hamilton did, more than 
once, more than twice, adolse measures which no man will 



214 LIFE OF A A 11 ON JIURU. 

now defend. He had the foibh^, so common in this country 
aftei tlie Revolution, of vuluing liimstilf cliielly upon liis mili- 
tary talents. He had also tlie .sohliiirly weaknesH with rej^ard 
to women-. His passions wei-e warm, and he indulgtid them ; 
but, not, aa is often wlii.spered, and sometimes printed, to the 
extent of proliigacy. Ho loved lovuly women, and lovely wo- 
men loved him. Tn one notorious instance, probably in other 
instances, liis passions led him :i.sti'ay. 

The liill-lciigth j)ortrait lA' Kaniilton, painted by Trumbull 
foi- the city of New York, which used to adorn the old Ex- 
change, and was snatched, damaged, iVoni the great lire ot 
18:15, is preserved at tlie Library of tlie New Yoi-k Historical 
Society. The picture is precious, and should be either re- 
stored or cojtied. AVithin these taw years, Mrs. Hamilton 
stood before it, and proiunmced it " a good likeness of the 
general." On the torn canvas, we discern a Blight, erect, 
under-sized, elegant ligiu-e, with a bright, rosy fiice ; a man, 
one would think, more litted to shine on the battle-lield and 
in the drawing-room, than in an office with a hundred clerks 
armmd him.* 

A writer who saw Hamilton, describes him in these words : 
" H(s was expected one day at dinner, and was the last who 
came. AVhen he entered the room, it was a))parent, from the 
respectful attention of the company, that he was a distin- 
gifished individual. He was dressed in a blue coat, with 
bright buttons; the skirts of his coat were unusually long. 
He wore a white waistcoat, black silk small-clothes, white silk 
stockings. The gentleman who received him as a guest, in- 
troduced him to such of the company as were strangers to 

* Tlie bust of Hamilton by Oorraoci in tlio riiiludolpliia Academy of Piao 
Arta shows us a dilVereut face. The foaturos are good onougli, but not libor 
idly dis]Joaed ; a somewhat coatractod oountonanoo, with sliyiiUy ovorhanp;- 
;ug forehead, and a mass of propoUiii;,-' Ibroe boliind the oars. There is also a 
mil .atiu-e ot' Hamilton in this city, painted from life, which exhibits a sensual 
fullness of cheek and chin. It is an instancu of the unreliableness of history, 
that of the mx most accessible portraits of JIainilt(jn, only two (and those 
the worst pictures) look as if they were designed to resomblo tho same 
pwson. 



THE BRA OF BAD FEISLING, 215 

him ; to each he made a foi-mal bow, bending very low, the 
ceremony of shaking hands not being observed. The lame 
of Hamilton had reached every one who knew any thing of 
public men. His appearance and deportment accorded with 
the dignified distinction to which he had attained in public 
opinion. At dinner, whenever he enga^d in the conversa- 
tion, every one listened attentively. His mode of speaking 
was deliberate and serious ; and his voice engagingly pleasant. 
In the evening of the same day he was in a mixed assembly 
of both sexes ; and the tranquil reserve noticed at the din- 
ner table, had given place to a social and {jlayful maimer, as 
though in this he was alone ambitious to excel." 

A man thus endowed, and possessing a Scotch tenacity of pur- 
pose, can not but powerfully affect the opinions of the society 
of which he is a leader and an ornament, Hamilton did. Be- 
sides being the soul and intellect of the Federal jiarty, he gave 
to the upper society of the cities its tone and tendency. 

But there was another man of ideas, of will, and of talent, 
acting conspicuously upon the scene ; Thomas Jefferson, Sec- 
retary of State. This man, a gentleman by birth, a Demo- 
crat from conviction, a reflective pliilanthropist by disposition, 
had been abroad from 1V85 to 1789, and so escaped the travail 
of Constitution-making. He left Iiis country while its natural 
tendencies to Republicanism were at full tide. He found 
France heaving with the coming earthquake. With his owa 
eyes he saw the haggard, thistle-eating peasants. Witli hi* 
own hand he felt and weighed the sorry morsels of black 
bread that mothers gave to hungry children. In his journeys 
through fair France, he was much in the peasants' hovels, and 
looked with a wrathful brother's eyes upon those mean abodes. 
On the sly, when the good woman's face was turned, we see 
this singular gentleman feeling the bed upon which he had 
taken care to sit, to ascertain its material and quality, and 
looking into the pot to see what the poor wretch was cooking 
for her children's dinner. His office of embassador made him 
a resident of chateaus and a frequenter of courts, and he 
could see precisely how much of natural right the puny seig- 
neurs and stolid monseigneurs had to lord it over the sons of 



210 L t K K O F A A II O H n U K It . 

toil. Tl>o '•'■folly of hi<(}U))(j in))>ort(i)ioe it/>on, idiots''* bocatno 
cxoctnliiigly riour to 'riionuis .IcIUmsoh. lie wjis puo of lliowo 
raro Amorionns wlioni a lOiiropoaii lour lias iiistnictod and 
oonlii'iui'd in liunianc |)rinoi|il('s, no! oDi'niinaliHl and botoolod. 

In |)orson, as in cliafaolvr, .lell'orson was a contrast to Hani- 
ih.in. llo was a tull man, six loot <^no in staduro, it is said; 
W(>11 (Mion<;h proporlinnod, but not o[' a oonipaot, oncrgolio 
build. His l(>!j;s woro Ion;;-, and sooniod looso-jointed. llis 
AVoIsli »^\lraolion sliowod ils(>ll' in roddish Ibixoii hair, a liu,-lit 
ooinploxion, Muo oyos, and a j^onoral Ooltic oast of foaturos. 
His niannor, savs (ladilion, was plain ami friondly, not polisliod 
nuf iuv|)osinii-. llo was a !i,t)od-toin|»orod man, and his writings, 
Hs wo soo, aro oalm and tlowing. Hut thoro was (iro in Thomas 
.lolforson. llndor llio ooM surfaoo oi' somo of his letters, wo 
can soo the la\ a oi' his I'onviotions llowing white hot. Ho was 
no oratoi ; ho nevoi- made a. spooeh, 1 beliovo. His inlbionoo 
was (Mving ontiroly to his charaoter, his sooial rank, .and, above 
all, to tlu> aeoordanoo o[' his conviotions with the instinots of the 
peopK' of tlu> United States. JolVerson was eminently a man 
ol"o|)inions, ,as distinguished from action, ;is Hamiltoi\ was a man 
of aetion, !is distinguished from opinion, ''Thought," s.ays 
(niethe, "expands: aetion narrows." .lotVorson had .all the 
breadth anil liberality whieh enlightiMiod ojtinion bestows; but 
in devising measures and earryiug ou the aetual businovss of 
governing a State, he would have been oxoelled, perhaps, by 
Hamilttm. In the revoliuiiuiary war, the ardent, oxeenlivo 
spirits ol" the eountry sought glory in the tiold. Hut .Teller- 
son, the soholar, the j>hiloso[»her, the jurist, ron\ained .aoiviliau 
to the last, ami served his country only willi his nan\e, his 
uund, and his piai. This fact, in eonnoction with .another, 
nan\olv, that he was onlv thirtv years old when the war broke 
out, indicates the n\an oi" books. At all periods o( his life, 
war avid violonee woro abhorrent to this eonlemplative lover 
of his species. 

It is the lashion now to underrate Mr. .lotferson. In the 
saloons oC our Historical Soeiolios, in (he volumes of Mr. Hil- 
dreth's History of the United Slates, and, indeed, in most, 
polite circles and boi>ks oC the prosout time, the oharacter ot"^ 



I M ic K u A OK i; A I) F rc IC I, I N <;. 



217 



t\]{' iiviy.ii, I)(Miii»(',r;il (iiroH ill. Tln! |>()lil,(! circles uiid l)()()kH of 
tlic ITiiilcd SLmIch liuvc never Hyiii|);i( lii/.i^l witli wliiii uloiio 
iniikes i\\(i United SUitcs ;i njition oT |moiiiisc. An<l Tlionuitj 
.J(;ireiMoii, like General WjiHliingion, liaH hccn lid- (il'ty yearH 
tlie vict.ini of iiiccHsaiit (^ulofj^y. Tim HtiHl(wi(, ol" history, tliero- 
l()r(!, sits down to the iiivesti/^ation of liis liH; :i.iid clmiactcr 
with a rccliiifj;' ol' wearincHs and dis;^iiHt, expecting" to lind liini 
as coiii|iIcl,c a- diHappointnu^nt uh other gvciii nain(!s o(" that 
period prov<! to Ix^ on close examination, \^\^l no; .li'llerson, 
to the surprise of tint rciuler ol' his works, is discovered to bo 
a person o(" oriein.'il and solid rneiit. lie more; than sliared the 
cniighteinnent oC the loreniost niiui ol" his a.^e ; lie was in ad- 
vance of his a;^e ; his coiuitry has not yet cotno ]ip to 'riioinas 
JelVisrson. If to (Jtfneral W:isliin<i,ton, in(»r(i th:ui to ;uiy other 
man, this yonnj^ nation ow(!S its existunce, to 'I'honiMs Jidler- 
Hon, more than to any othei- man, it owes the p(^'ice('ul p|•^^S(^r- 
vation of its i^rand pitculiaiity. P'anlts, indeed, he had, and 
iiinlts he <;onnnitt(;d. An incvxecntive man in an (!xeeutiv(! sta- 
tion is sur(! to make mistakes. JJnt his merits .•uid Hcrvicos, 
imiiK-nse and vari(;iis, ahnost In^yond (!xam])le, (III me with grat- 
itude; and admiration — simn^r as h(! was aL?ainst my |)oor hero. 

fjonj^ini^ for his native fields, .IciU'ei'son lel't I<'ranc(! in the 
•glorious yeai" of the IJiistile, an<i came liome to Virj^inia. No 
had no misj^^ivinj^s ahout tln^ I J.evoliitiou : Ik^ under'stood and 
loved the Uevoliition. Hefor(^ tliiil pniilying storni li;id Itiirst 
upon an astoimded woi'ld, lie had watched and hailed tin; sigtirt 
th;(,t Hn'etold the comin<^ vindicidion of tin; rights of man. 
lip to tlu! tinnjof his leavifiLj Franeu', the llevolntion had worn 
only its nobler asp(icts, and he sympathi/ed with it, heart and 
inttillect, 

lie i-cach(!(l Virginia, and was snnnnoned soon by (Jeneral 
Wasliinnton to (Ik! ollice (;f St'(!r<;tai'y (»f State, With mi 
feit;ne(| reliK^tance (for he >vas an enthusiast in a^ri(!u!ture) ho 
left his ampl(! (jstates and came; to New Y(n'k to join the noW 
government. TlK^re he met with a Hur|)rise. r»nl letiisrpioto 
his own languag(! : 

"1 relinried from tin; ]<'r((nch mission," s;iys JVIi-. .leHerson, 
"in the lirst year of tho new government, having lan<l(!d 

10 



218 LIFE OV AAKON lUIKK, 

in Virginia in Dcooniber, 1789, and proceeded to New 
York in March, 11 W, to enter on the office of Secretary 
'of State, Here, certainly, I found a ytate of tilings -which, 
of all T had ever contenii)lated, I the least expected. I 
had letl France in the first year of her Revolution, in the 
fervor of national rights and zeal for reformation. My con- 
scientious devotion to those rights could not be heighte.iu>d, 
but it had been aroused and excited by daily exercise. The 
President received nie cordially, and my colleagues, and the 
cireie of i)rinci[)al citizens, ai)parently with welcome. The 
courtesies of dinner parties given me, as a stranger newly 
arrived among them, placed me at once in their familiar soci- 
ety. J>ut I can not describe the wonder and mortification 
with which the table conversations filled me. Politics Avere 
the chief topic, and a preference of kingly over republican 
government was evidently the favorite sentiment. An apos- 
tate I could not be, nor yet a hypocrite ; and I found myself, 
for the most part, the only advocate on the republican side of 
the question." 

Mr. Jefferson records part of the conversation which passed 
at a cabinet dinner at this period — present, himself, Mr. Adams, 
and Mr. Hamilton : 

" After the cloth was removed, and one question argued and 
dismissed, conversation began on other matters, aud by some 
circmnstanee was led to the British Constitution, on whicli Mr. 
Adams observed, ' Purge that constitution of its corruption, 
and give to its popular bi'anch equality of representation, and 
it would be the most perfect constitution ever devised by the 
wit oi' man.' 

" Hamilton paused and said, ' Purge it of its corruption, 
and give to its popular branch etpiality of representation, and 
it would become an infpracticable government : as it stands 
at present, -with all its supposed defects, it is the most perfect 
government which ever existed.' 

" And this was assuredly the exact line which separated 
the political creeds of these two gentlemen. The one w;\s for 
two hereditary branches, and an honest elective one ; the 
other, for a hereditary king, with a House of Lords and Com- 



THE ERA OF BAD PEELING. 219 

mons corrupted to his will, and standing between him and the 
people. Hamilton was indeed a singular character. Of acute 
understanding, disinterested, honest, and honorable in all pri- 
vate transactions, amiable in society, and duly valuing virtue 
in private life, yet so bewitched and perverted by the British 
example, as to be under thorough conviction that corrujition 
was essential to the government of a nation. Mr. Adams had 
originally Ijeen a Republican. The glare of royally and no- 
bility, during his mission to England, had made him believe 
their fascination a necessary ingredient in government." 

Hamilton and Jefferson could not be an harmonious pair 
of cabinet ministers, Hamilton hated, Jefferson loved, the 
French Revolution.* Hamilton apj)roved, Jefferson detested 
the monarchizing forms of Washington's administrations. 
Hamilton was for a strong and overshadowing federal gov- 
ernment; Jefferson was strenuous for the independence of the 
States. Hamilton was in favor of high salaries and a gen- 
eral liberality of expenditure ; Jefferson, liberal with his own 
money, was penurious in expending the people's. Hamilton 
desired a powerful standing army ; Jefferson was for relying 
chiefly upon an unpaid, patriotic militia. Hamilton would have 
had our embassadors live at foreign 'courts, in a style similar 
to that of the courtly representatives of kings ; Jefferson was 
opposed to any diplomatic establishment. Hamilton had a 

* Like the Bourbons, the New York Federalist learns nothing, and forgota 
nothing. While writing this page, my eyes wandered for a moment to tlie 
newspaper which contained Senator "Wadsworth's speech on the Trinity Church 
question (delivered in March, 1857). Mr. Wadsworth claimed to speak as 
the representative of "the Jays, the l^arailtons, and the Kings," whom ho evi- 
dently regards as the elect of the human race. Alluding to the gentleman 
who thought that the vestry of Trinity should not liave unchecked control of 
the chureli's great estate, the honorable and uiJearned Senator .said, "Neither 
Jack Cade nor Ledru RcJlin ever proposed any thing bolder. All Jacobinism 
stands without its parallel. The attacks upon tlie noblesse of France, when 
untold niillions of property fell the prey of plebeian rapacity, furnishes the 
only fit illustration which my mind can recall to express my abhorrence of this 
outrageous proposition." Tliis is eminently Ilamiltonian. But for Hamilton 
to speak in that nianuor of the Frencli Revolution was excusaljlo, as ho died 
before ti)e labors of scores of historians and biographers had flooded that pe- 
riod with liglit. 



220 LIFE OF AAKON HUKK. 

great opinion of the importance of foreign commerce : Jefl'er- 
son knew tliat home production and internal trade are the 
great sources of national wealth. Hamilton gav^ a polite 
assent to the prevailing religious creed, and attended the 
Episcopal Church ; Jefterson was an avowed and emphatic 
dissenter from that creed, and went to the Unitarian chapel. 
And linally, Hamilton, the ex-clei-k, was a very line gentle- 
man, and wore the very line clothes then in vogue ; Jefferson, 
the hereditary lord of acres, combed his hair out of pig-tail, 
discarded powder, wore pantaloons, fastened his shoes with 
strings instead of buckles, and put fine-gentlemanism utterly 
out of his heart for ever. 

" Hamilton and I," said Jefferson, long after, " were pitted 
against each other every day in the cabinet, like two lighting- 
cocks." No Avonder. They soon became, as all the wctrld 
knows, personally estranged, and Hamilton, never too scrupu- 
lous in political warfare, assailed his colleague by name in the 
newspaj)ers. From the cabinet the contention spread to the 
farthest contines of the nation, and became at length the an- 
griest and bitterest this nation has known. 

A few passages from the writings and reminiscences of the 
time will show the state of public feeling during this contest 
between the new and old ideas. 

Of the excitement caused by General Washington's cool re- 
ception of absurd Genet, the French embassador, who made 
a triumphal progress through the country in 1793, John 
Adams wrote to Jefferson in after years : " You certainly 
never felt the terrorism excited by Genet in 1793, when ten 
thousand people in the streets of Philadelpliia; day after day, 
threatened to drag Washington out of his Jiouse, and effect a 
revolution in the government, or compel it to declare war 
in favor of the French Revolution, and against England. The 
coolest and the firmest minds, even among the Quakers in 
Philadelpliia, have given their opinions to me, that nothing 
b'ut the yellow fever, Avhich removed Dr. Hutchinson and 
Jonathan Dickinson Sergeant from this Avorld, could have saved 
ihe United States from a fotal revolution of government. I 
have no doubt you were fast asleep, in philosophical tranquil- 



THE ERA OP BAD FEELING. 221 

lity, wlien ten thousand people, and perhaps many more, were 
parading the streets of Philadelphia on the evening of my 
fast day; when even Governor Mifflin himself thought it his 
duty to order a patrol of horse and foot to preserve the peace ; 
vvhen Market street was as full as men could stand by one 
aiiotiier, and even before my door; when some of my domes- 
tics in frenzy, determined to sacrifice their lives in my defense ; 
when all were ready to make a desperate sally among the mul- 
titude, and others were Avith difficulty and danger dragged 
back by the rest ; when I myself judged it prudent and nec- 
essary to order chests of ai-ms from the war-office to be 
brought through by-lanes and back doors, determined to de- 
fend my house at the expense of my life, and the lives of the 
few, very few domestics and fiiends within it." 

The deliriinn of the public during the early years of the 
French Revolution, is strikingly shown in a letter which Mr. 
Adams wrote to his wife in 1794. "The rascally lie," wrote 
the Vice-President, " about the Dulce of York in a cage ; and 
Tou!(>n and all the English fleet in the hands of the Republic- 
ans, was iabricated on purpose to gull the gudgeons ; and it 
completely succeeded, to my infinite mortification. An at- 
tempt was made to get me to read the red-hot lie to the Sen- 
ate, in order to throw them into as foolish a confusion as that 
below them ; but I was too old tobe taken in, at least by so 
gross an artifice, the falsehood of which was to me palpalile." 
This lie, palpable as it was, not only threw the House of Rep- 
resentatives into confusion, bnt set all the bells of Philadel- 
phia ringing, and made the city, for a few hours, the scene of 
vociferous rejoicing. 

Gi'aydon, in his Memoirs of this period, tells a story that 
gives us a lively idea of "the popular feeling. "I remember," 
says he, " one day at the table of General Mifflin, at this time 
President of the State (Pennsylvania), when the Parisian 
courtezans were applauded for contributing their patriotic 
gifts. I ventured (Graydon was a thoroughgoing Federalist, 
and ' gentleman of the old school'), to call in question the 
immense merit of the proceeding. I was stared at by a pious 
clergyman for the shocking heterodoxy of my sentiments, and 



liiJ'2 1. 1 I' IC t> 1' A A Iv O N I! V i; K. 

should i>ro1i:iliIy have Krcii diawn iiilo an altorcntit^i, no l(>ss 
(VlsniL!:nH>!vltl(> (han indisiTiu'l, had not llu> ^ciu'ral, in a tViondly 
niainioi-, |iacilit'd ihc parson hy w his|n>rin!;- him in (ho oar, tliat 
1 was iHMloolly well disposod, and oidy sport iiio; an opinion. 
So ovorwiiohnin!;- was tho inliil nation, that ovon tliis ,ij;odly 
porsonaii'o had tiniti* loi'-^ot, that intMnitinonoy was ii sin. llo 
*('on/</ /hfiY hit<)if,'d the intckcd f</uf{< — f/ui/ pfmncd hhnf^ " 

l>urin>;' this (■onti>st, l)otwot>n yonnj;' DiMnoi-racy and oUl Cus- 
tom, a vorv markod ('han;;'!' took place in tho oostiunc, tlu' 
niamiiM's, and th<' minor morals oi'lho pi>oplo. Thi* loclin^' of 
oipialily I'xprosstMl itsi-lf in dross, John .Jay, amon*;- others, 
;ilhidt>s, in ono of his lottors, t(> tho olVoot of tho Froni'h lvovt>- 
hition in hanisltini;' silk stockini^s and hi^h hroodins;" tViun tho 
land. Pantaloons booamo tho ontwai'd and visililo sinn ol' an 
inward and invisihlo ropuhlioanism. I lair-pow dor, pii;'-(ails, 
and shoo huoklos ho^an to (lisappoar ; and tho polito obsiM'v- 
aniH^sthat had >;'rown outoftlu* old-world dist ini^t ions ol" rank, 
woro disoontinuod hy I ho inoro ardont ropublioans. Tho ro- 
oontly pidtlishod /u'('oll<ctio/i{i of Potor Tarloy, oontaiu nmoh 
prooiiuis and j>loasaiitly-oivon information rospootlnsv tho 
i>Ta(hial oIian:;o that oanio ovor tho spirit of tho o<,>nntry in 
tho limo of .lotVorson. Tho oxoollont I'arloy is a sa»l I'\>doral- 
ist, it is lrut>, and his sympalhios iwo mnoh moro with tho 
j<'ot>il oKl limo, (han with tho hiMtor now (imo ; but ho is a 
f'ailhlnl and ao;rooabh> narrator. Hotbro tho .lotVorsouian ora, 
ho (v^lls us, travolors who mot. on tho highway salutoil i-aoh 
otl\or with tbrmal and tUnuifu'il oourli>sy ; and ohildrou 
stoppod, as thoy passod a i^row n jum'soii, ai\il niado tho bow 
thoy had booi\ praotiood in at sohool lor snoh oooasions. lint 
as domooraoy sproad, thoso iiraiul salutations " lirst subsidi<d 
into a vulvar nod, halt'ashamoil aiul hall" inipudont, and thou, 
liko tho pondnlum of a dyim;- olook, totally ooasod." 

Anothor littlo laot moi\tiouod by Mr. (.Joodrioh is si>i-uili- 
oant. " IVunuls, shillings, ami [>i>noo," says ho, " w oro olas- 
sioal, and di^llars and oonis vnlj^ai", lor sovoral suooooding jiou- 
oratious. ' 1 would not «>ivo a pouuy for it,' was nontool ; ' 1 
would not i^ivo A .HM\t tor it,' was jtloboiau." Anuuii;- tho 
V)ouclits bostowoil upou tiio country by Jollorsou, ouo was its 



TIIK KJtA f) I'' I'. A I) KICIOI-INO. 223 

a<lrniial>le curronoy ; wliich, if he did not invent, ho ho advo- 
cated aH to iriHurc its adoption, 

A IiidicrouH anecdote related hy the Hamc author, though 
()(' a Hom<!wh;it latcir Ht.aj^c, of" the; d(Mrio(;i"atic, triimjj)!), has an 
hi.stori(; value. " A Senator of tlie ljiiit(;d .States," HayH Mr. 
Goodrich, "once told me tliat at this period all the }>arl>erH of 
Washington warn FederaliHts, and lie imputed it to the fact 
t ii:i,l, tlu! leadei'H of that [tarty in (JongresH wore powder and 
long (|U(!ii(!S, iitid of course! had th(!rn drctSHcd every day by the 
barber. The Deirujcrats, on tlie c<;ntrary, wore short hair, or, 
at least, small qurjues, tied up carelessly with a ribbon, and 
therefore gave little encouragement to the tonsorial art. One 
(hiy, as th(! narrator told me, while he was being shaved by 
the l(;a<Iing b;irber of the city — who was, of course, a Federal- 
ist — the latter suddiwily an.l v<!h(;mently burst out against the 
nomination of Madison for the presid«'ncy by the de'mocratic 
parfy, which had that morning been announced. ' iJear mo I' 
said the ]>arber, ' surely this country is doomed to disgrace 
and shame. What Prcisidents we might have, sir I Just look 
at !)agg{!tt, of Connecticut, or Stockton, of New Jers(!y I 
What ({ueiies they have got, sir — as ]>ig as your wrist, and 
powd(!r(!d every day, sir, like real gentlennui as they are. 
Such ineii, sii-, would confer dignity upon the chief magis- 
tracy ; but this little Jim Mndison, with a queue no bigger 
than a jtipe-stem ! sir, it is enough to make a man forswear 
his country !' " 

The I'eader, I hope, is one of those who will see in these ex- 
tracts j)i"oof ihat what democracy destroyed was either sharfiy 
or so mingled with sham, as to bo inseparable from it. JJut 
many of our sedate and staUJy fbr<!fa1,h(!rs could not see this. 
.Jederson was a name of horror in New England for many a 
year ; clergymen [)reached against liim, and prayed against 
him, (!V(Mi hy name. 

'I'h(!r(! was great activity of mind at this time. At the 
beginning of th(; revolutiiMiary war, there were forty news- 
papers ])iil)!ish(!d in tin; (tolonies. ''I'he number had not in- 
creased when the Constitution was adopted, in 1 7«7. J^iirmg 
Washington's first term, several new jtajiers were started, but 



2'2i I' T F K O 1' A A I J ON lU' IJ K . 

ill his siH'on^l lorni, aiul in iho lirst half of Avlams's administra- 
tion, (ho niunbor oi' m^wspapors tloublod. 'I'horo woro n»i>ro 
daily paiuMs luiMishinl in rhilailoljthia in ITSK^ than thoro aro 
in IS.-V. In \\\c hoat of thi> wait'aiv botwoon iho Foiloralists 
ami HojMibHi'ans, (l\o iH)rnical payors wont rabid, and tbanunl 
porsonalitios and lios. 

What .lolVorson says oi' iho pross, at'ior sonio yoars oi' this 
mailnoss had spoiled it. for ovory good purposo, niay bo ipiotod 
horo : 

".Nothing'," wroto Mr. dotVorson, in ISOT, " oan now bo bo- 
liovoil w hii'li is si'on in a uowspapor. Truth itsolf booonios 
suspioions bv boin^' put into that pollutod vohiv'lo. Tho real 
oxtont oi' this s(at<> oC inisinforniation is known only to thoso 
who aro in situations to ooivfront t'aots within thoir knowlodii'O 
with tho lios of tho ilay. I roally look with oouunisoratioii 
ovor, tho CToat body oi' my folio w-oiti/.ons, who, reading- rows- 
papors, livo and ilio in tho bolii>f that thoy havo known sonu^ 
thing of what has boon passing in tho world in thoir timo; 
whoroastho aooonntsthoy havo road in nowspapors arc just as 
truo a history of aiiy othor porioil of tho worhl as of tho pvos- 
ont, oxoopt that tho roal uanios ot' tho day aro atlixod to thoir 
tablos«. (lonoral tiiots n\ay indootl bo ooUootod tVoni thorn, suoh 
as that Kuropo is now at war, that 1-Jonaparto has boon a snc- 
oosstul warrior, that ho has snbjootod a groat portioti ot' Kuropo 
to his will, oto., oto. ; but no di'tails can bo roliod (>n. I will 
add, that tho man who novor looks into a newspaper is better 
intbi'n\oil than he who reads thorn; inasnvuoh as he who knows 
nothing is nearer to truth tlian he whose nnniVis tilled with 
falsehood and errors, llo who reads nothing will still h>arn 
the great taots, ai\d the iletails are all false. 

" IVvhaps an editor might begin a retbrmation in some suoh 
way as this; l^ivide his paper into tour ohapters, hea>ling tho 
1st. Truths, -Jd. Probabilities, ad. Tossibilitios, 4th, Lies. The 
tirst ehapter wv>uld bo very short, as it would eontain little 
more than authentio papers, and information fron\ suoh souroos 
as tho ovlitor would be willing to risk his own reputation tor 
their truth. The seeoud would eontain what, from a mat me 
eonsidoration of all oireumstanees, his judii'ment should eon- 



T ir E i; R A O I' 15 A f> KICEMNG. 225 

chidd to ])(; probuhly tnio. I'liis, however, Hhoulfl rather con- 
1,;iiri too little tliiiii too rniieh. The third and fourth should be 
profoftHedly for those readers who would rather have lies for 
llieir money than the blank pajjer they would oecupy." 

JefroiHon, however, knew the value of the press, arid the 
servic(;s it Aac/ rendered. He wrcjte the passage just quoted 
after the great fight was over, and befbi'e tin; press had b(!gun 
to recover from the demoralization vvhieli is one of tlu; results 
of warfare. In JVfKJ, when Washington seemed to wish Jef- 
("•■rsrjn tfj dismiss Captaiti I*'ren(!!Ui (democratic <!ditor-in-chi(f ) 
Irom the post of translating clei-k to the .Secr(!tary of State 
(salary, two hundred and fifty dollars a year), .lefferson said 
to oik; of his intimates: "I won't turn liiin out. His paper 
has done tnorc to save the; democi-atic system than any thing 
else." 

'i'lie period which I liave eall(;d the "era of bad feeling," 
Ix'gan with those game-cock encounters between Jeff(!rson and 
II.'Miiillon in tli(! (;abiriet of Ueneral Washington, and contin- 
ued, with yearly-in(!r(!asing acrimony, till democracy and Jef- 
fcrHf)n trimnpluid in 1800. The struggle would ruiturally have 
last(!d longer, ll>r F<;d(;ralism had immense advantages, and 
every new liorror of the French Revolution was strength to 
rlie party that had always denounced it. The two circum- 
stances which, inori^ than all others, hastened the repul>lican 
trimri))!), were, as it seems to me, iiurr's manag(!ment, and 
John Adams's want of management. '^^fhe part, which J>ui-r 
j)laye(| in ed'ecting th(! discomtitur(! of Hamilton and liis party, 
will be stated i'lilly in the n(;xt cha[)ter. Here, a few woi'ds 
lespecting Adams may be j)errnitt(jd. 

Ghuious, d(!liglitfid, lionest .John Adams! An American 
.U)]\n Hull ! The Comic-Uncle (d' this exciting drama! The 
reader, if a play-goer, knows well the fiery old gentleman 
wh(j goes blustering and tliundering about the stage, grasping 
his stick till it (piivcM's, throwing the lovers into a t(!rril>le 
consternaion, hurrying on the catastn^plie he is m(»st solicitous 
to prevent, plmning himself most of all upon his sagacity, 
while he alom^ is olind to wliat is passing under his very nose ! 
Such is som(!thing like the impr(;ssion hift upon the mind of 

10* 



:»2l> I. I K IC O K A A IJ (> N K V U K. 



ono wlio boooinos Ihmilini- wiih tlu> i'h;u:u-tors of this period, 
rospooliuii- tlio mail \\ ho, as l<'iaiiklin woll sai*!, was iilwaya 
liomvst, ol\vn uroat, ami soiuotiiiu's mad. Think ofrt Pivsidont 
of tho I'liitod States, who, \vhih> his eoumrvmon wove in tho 
ttMui>or o[' IT!>7 and 1 70S, oouKl, in a public adilross, alluiU^ to 
]>is haviuii' hat! tho /n»ior om-o to stand in tho prosonoo of ti>o 
British kin>4! It is simply amusinu' now to road of his havini^" 
th>noso; but, to tho mathK>nod lvopid)lioans oi' that ora, it 
soomod llio hist doy,roo of abjoot piisillanintit y tt>ward h^^nuland, 
and arrogant insuU \o tho poopK* o\' Aniorioa. Think also of 
a Trosidout oC tho I'nitod Stati's wl\o oould soo, withotit in- 
tortoronoo, a follow-i'iti/.on prosooutod, oonviotod, and tinod a 
hmidroil tlollars, for tcin/u'tu; that tho waildiug oi' a oortain 
cannon, fnoil lo saint o tho Prosidont as he passed thnniiih 
Newark, had lodged upon an ample }>art of tho President's 
an\ple person ! Ono of his own oabinet tohi Hamilton that 
the " ehief was a man who, whether sportful, playfid, witty, 
kind, ooUl, drunk, sober, aiiiiry, easy, stitV, jealous, eareless, 
oautious, eotttidont, olose, or open, is so almost always in the 
wrong" plaeo, atnl to the wronu" persons.'' Alien laws, sedition 
laws, and stam[> duties, oamo naturally ottough to sueh a Pres- 
ident. 

John .\.dams must never bo judged by his administration. 
None oC tho uumi ol' tlto ItevoliUion oamo out ot' the stonn 
and stress of our era of bad fooling; quite imseathed. It wjis 
too mueh for hmnan nature. In the revolutionary period, 
this high-n\ottlod game-oook of a ,lohn .Vdatns appeared to 
glorious advatitago, made a spleiulid show of light, animatod 
the patriotic heart, and gave irresistible impetus to the cause. 
But ho was ludicrously \mtitted to preside with dignity and 
success over a popidar government, wliich must do every 
thing with an eye to its efVoot n\)on the people, llis own cab- 
inet intrigued agaii\st him. They regarded Hamilton as tlieir 
veal chief; and Hamilton, tar n\oro than Adams, teas tlie itdlu- 
eucing mind of the goveriunent. C>ne who would miderstand 
and like John Adams must read his Diaries and Letters; 
which, of all the writings of that tin\o, are the n>ost lunnan 
und entortaiuing. Pickwick is not funnier. Pickwick, in the 



T JI IC !■: fC A O r /! A I) F K K l> I N o , 227 

oflico of jdirnc rriiriiHtor of KnglarKl, wouW not have bocn 
Trioio tho wrong man in the wrong place tlian Jolm Adarns 
waH in the chair of VVanhington. 

Adams and Ilainilton agreed in one thing, abliorrenee of 
the Frenf',h Revolution ; and in anotJier, admiration of the 
Knglisli govei-ntnent ; and in another, diHtru.st of the maHHes 
of the |)eo[)h.'. " You thr>ught," Haid Adams to a correspond- 
ent, " th(; French lievohition a minister of grace : I knew it to 
he, from tiie fii'st, a gohlin damned," One of his letters to fiis 
wife contains a characteristic f)assage on equality. " Hy the 
law ol' nature," he writes, "all men are men, and not angels 
— men, and not lions — men, and not wJiales — men, and not 
eagl(;s — that is, they are ail of the same species; and this is 
the most that the equality of man amounts to. A physical 
inequality, an iritelh-ctual iiir;quality, of the most serious kind, 
is eslahlished unchangeably by the Author of nature; and so- 
c/ialy liMH o, rifjhf, to (MoJdlHh any ot/uiT inequalMim it may 
judye VAineHHary f(yr Uh yood. TIkj pr(}cef>t, however, do as 
yon, vioutd he done hy^ implies an equality which is the real 
equality of nature and (Christianity." 

In one word, John Adams was not in unison with the hu 
mor of tlie age; and, being a passionate, dogmatical, obsti- 
nate Jolui Hull (A' a man, he took not the slightest pains to 
e<;nc(!al the fact, or to conciliate; tlie jxjople with whom he had 
f.o do. During his presidency it was, that j>ai'ty animosities 
reached their hf;ight. lie was elected by a very small plu- 
rality. The It(;publicans of 1700 wiira nearly as mtjch elated 
and encouraged by their defeat a« were the Uepublicans of 
\Hr,v, by theirs. Events in France gave the President signal 
advantages, which another man would liave turned to such 
jiccount as to S(;cure the supremacy of his party for years 
aftei-. Adams continued U) ian tlu; flames of party spirit by 
all that he did, and by all tliat he did not do, 

''i'he state of ))ubli(; feeling in 1797 and 1798, may be in- 
ferred fi-om these sentences from the letters of Thomas JefTer- 
son : " 'I'he j»assions are too high at ]>resent to be cooled in 
our day. You and I have; f<;r(nerly seen warm debates and 
high political j>assions, Hut gentlemen of difUsrent politics 



'J'J8 1. 1 K K i» V \ A i; o \ V- V K n. 

would thou s|H>;ik to i>;\i'li othor, :mil st>p;ir;ilo tli(> busini'ss oi' 
tlio Sonato iVoni ihat of sooii^fv. It is not so uow . Mou who 
li;\\i> boon iutiinati* all iIumt li\os, itoss tlto stroiM (o avoid 
morliiur, •'•lid (urn their heads anothor way, lost tliov should 
ho t>hli^'od to touoh thoir hats." To anothor trioud ho writos: 
" At this luoinont, all tho [>assioMs ai'o boiliui;' mor, and ono 
who lu'ops hiinsolt' oi'ol and oloar ot" tho oouta^'ion, is so tlu* 
below the point ot'or»linary eonvi>rsation that ho tinvis hinisoU' 
insulated in every soeiely." 'Vo anothor: "Tht" interruption 
of letters is beotMuiu;;' so notiM'ious, ihat 1 am lorniiuo- a rosiv 
lution of' doeliniuj;' otM'rospondouoo with my tVitauls thrtin^h 
tho ohannels ot" tho post-i^lVieo altoiiothor." 

\Vith tlu'se viM-y n\isoollauoous and inadequate notioos of tho 
stirrini>: and event t'ul ptM'iod durino- w hioh Ameriea beoamo 
Ameriea, wo nmst resume tho story ot" tho tnan whi>so dili- 
gvnee antl taei assisted tho people ot" tho I 'nit oil States to 
roali/.o their t'ond d<>sire t"or a government whieh should truly 
roprovsout Mf'm, and hoartily oxoouto t/itir will. 



M !•; M 15 K R F T f f K A 8 8 1? M BL Y AGAIN. 

i N <Jr''Ankof''n J\'tv) Yi/ik J<)urn/d o,nd I'atriMw JicjjUUr 
for Kobruary 2<1, 1797, arrjid wliol^; pHj<os a>>laz<; with tJio vic- 
torioH of J>(>ri!ipurt<;'M Italian cuffipaij^ri, an'l hriKtlin;^ with the 
Hhotl, Hhurp biillciiriH and proclamations of that portentouH 
conqueror, may Htill t»c Hcrjn a little paraji^jrapfi which rocjordn, 
in ifie fcwcMfc worrJH po»Hib)e, an event of Home interest to u», 
whir;fi had taken {;Iac<; in Alhany y//m/j days h';fore. The para^ 
Krapli reads thus : " On the 24tli ult,, Pliilip Schuyler was 
nnanimoiisly (exceptinj^ one vote in tfie Assembly and one in 
tlie Hcnate) elected to the office of Senator of the United 
Stat(!S by the two Houses of the le^^islature of tiiis State, for 
six years, from the 4th of March next, on which day tfie seat 
of Aaron JJnrr, one of our present Senators in Congress, be- 
comes vacant." 

'I'he services of the old soldier, then, were ree/>gnized at 
last. The FederaliHtH were in the ascendant, and the JtepuV 
licans, as I conjecture, chose to gratify a war-worn veteran 
with their votes, rather -Oian throw them away upon a candi 
flate of their own party. Schuyler was touched with the 
nnaniniity of the vote. He was a member of the State Sen 
ate at th(; time, and hf; took occasion to express hw feelings in 
a s\\<)\% speech, full of honest, manly feeling, 

'i'fie Fed'-ralists, as just observed, were in the ascendant in 
the State of 'i\^•.•w Vork. John Jay was governor. He had 
r<covered much r,f the popularity lost by negotiating that 



230 LIFE O K A A It O \ IJ U K K . 

famous treaty with Great Britain, for defending which on the 
stump Hamilton had been liooted and stoned in the streets of 
New York a year before. Tln' party h>oked stronu', and was 
strong. France had become a by-word and a tannt, to wliieh 
tlie RepubUcans liad liardly the faith or face to reply. The 
Federalists had only to use their victory in a eoi\eillatory 
s.niit, and the State was permanently their own. 

One important loss, however, they l\ad sustained, which led 
afterward to other damaging defections. The Livingstons 
had goiie over, e/i /(VniUi', to the Kepublienn party. The 
storv is, tluit the familv were chagrined, that Clumeellor Liv- 
ingston, who had powerfully assisted both to foru\ the Cimsti- 
tution and to get it adopted, should have been overlooked in 
the distribution of the great otKces ; a circumstance which 
thev attributed to the jealous emnitv of Hamilton. The irate 
Ohanct>llov, it is said, caused tlie family to be convened ; and 
from that evening, it was observed, the Livingstons, except 
some remote and rural members of the family, voted and 
acted with the Ivepublicans. Accordingly, we find the Chan- 
cellor, at tlie banquet given in New York in ITOO, to celebrate 
the ninth anniversarv of the alliance between France and the 
United States, otVering the following toasi : " May the present 
coolness between France and America produce, like the quar- 
rels of lovers, a renewal of love." 

If this account of the cause of Chancellor Livingston's change 
of politics be correct — and it is given by Dr. Hammond, the 
charitable Idstorian of New York parties, on what he states 
to be hiiih authoritv — it onlv iiroves that General Washing- 
ton was right in thinking Chancellor Livingston an xmtit per- 
son for the otfiee of Chief Justice of the United States. Let 
us admit, however, that the opinion was general, at that time, 
that Hamilton used his influence with Washuigton to crush 
the enemies and rivals of the hotise of Schuyler, and it was 
doubtless trying to feudal human nature for the head of the 
LiviugstOTis to see himself debarred froni coveted distinction 
by a tbreign adventurer's intluential word. 

Hamilton was now approaching the summit of his career. 
Triuni]>hant in his own State, strengthened at Fhiladelphia by 



.M KM H I'J I£ '» K Til ](. ' 2:il 

llic t*l(M;t,i<)ii ofliiH (ktliiir-iii-law to tho Soiiato, known to Tk; the 
fiivoritc oftlie natio'n'H favorite!, tlie mu^uoBtionod leader, tfiouj^li 
not tlic head of the dominant j^aity, and tJie confidential ad- 
viser of the cabinet, Hamilton was playing a great jjart in the 
national affkirs. It has been before remarked, that, during 
the first twelve years of the young nation's existence, it was 
he who really administered the government. For four years, 
as Secretary of the Treasury, he devised the great measures; 
for f<Hir years, as Washington's adviser and word-furnisher, as 
popular essayist and party-intriguer, he supported the system 
himself had created ; for four years, his was the mind to whic;h 
Mr. Adams's ministers looked for suggestion and advice. Can- 
did John Adarns, when all was over, declared, that duiing his 
presidency, Hamilton was "commander-in-chief of the House 
of Jlcpresentatives, of the Senate, of the heads of Depaitment, 
of (General Washington, and last, and least, if you will, of the 
President of the United States." He had won distinction in 
many of the pursuits, wherein to excel is counted peculiarly 
honorable First, orator and pamphleteer; then soldier, law- 
yer, statesman, author, in swift succession, and in each capacity 
unrivaled. In society too, "who so welcome as the yoimg and 
handsome chief of the gentlemen's party, who knew how to lay 
aside in the di'awing ro(jra the cares of State, and to charm the 
gentler sex; with the grace of his manners, the sprightliness of 
his wit, the warmth of his homage? What wonder that the 
amiable man shoidd have felt his imjxjrtance. Let it be ever 
remembered, to his honor, that through all these years of huc- 
(;ess and glory, his most constant thought was for the supre- 
macy of the system which he conscientiously believed to bo 
essential to the [prosperity, and even to the prolonged -exist- 
ence of the Union. 

The election of Schuyler to the Senate could not, of course, 
take C(jlonel Jiurr by surprise. Before that event was an- 
nounced, he had matured plans for getting the State of New 
York out of the hands of Hamilton and the Federalists. His 
first Kt(;p was to secure his own election to the State legisla- 
ture, which was tlie easier from the fact that the city, even 
tlien was more iiuilined than the ruial counties to the demo- 



2i\'2 \A V K o\' \ \ t; o N uv u u . 

criitlo \m'{\. AiH>onrm!;ly, (umummI SoIuiyliM-, nhont {hv (imo 
1)0 was oomiins;- liis s|HH'rh oi' tliaiiUs to I ho Slnto Si'iiiito lor 
llioir sulVniiios, \vroh> io llainiltoii, in nl.'inu, to Iho rollo\vii\o- 
otVoot ; ''Mr. Imut, \\ o nri> inlormoil, will l>o ;i oMinlitliito tor 
!» s(>;»t ill |lu> AssiMuliiy ; his vii>\\s \t is nol dillioult to ii|)|>rooi- 
nlo. 'lNu>y nl.irm ino, niul if hi* |>rinnils, / a/>/>r</it'Nd a total 
c/i(t>h/f (</''/>(>//V/.\N' i/i t/if iiiWt .(.s'Ntv/i/)//,' -iittomhMl willi oth«M' 
(lis!)y'roo;\l>K* »>«Miso(jiionoi>s." 

llo »li(l piovail. ImiI iiothiiii;: partioular ojnuo of it, s*^ far 
MS (HMild bi> soi'ii by tho miiiiitialotl oyi>. Im tho yojvrs 17S)7 and 
I V!>S, (\>loiu>l Uurr soiMUod altsorboii iu hiw ami spooulation. 
To a ii'i'oat (*xloMt ho was s(K llis iiiaotivity was ovon a sub- 
joot ot' 0(>in|>laint with sv>uio moiwhors ot" tlio party ; Imt it ivS 
|Mi>l>al>l»> that llis uiinotiiHHJ «>\ortioi\s iluriiiy- tlu>so two vonra 
oontiiUutoil as nuioh (o tl>(> linal violory as his moi'i> i»bvioua 
otVovts at. a lator day. Willi tho i>Oi>|tlo, .a jM-osidontiul oatn- 
]>aii;n moans moroly tlio low months o[' tnrnu>il just provimis 
ti> iho oloi'TuMi; Init llu> polilioian kiu>ws that tlu> liist thrt>o 
Yoars oC n prosidontial lonn, whon tho j>ot>|>lo aro oooupiod 
with tlu'ir iuvn |uirsuits, is thi> poriod tor /u'nt to uianoiuor in. 
This was nioro tho oaso thon than ni>w, booauso ihiMi iMily 
tVt>olu)ldors \i>tOil, and loadii\u" individuals had far n\oro oim)- 
trol ovor vt^os than thoy i-an ha\o wIumo nnivorsal sniVraijo 
j)rovails. Tlu> tlu'l, too, that prosldontial olootors woro ohoson, 
nol by tho jh'o[>1o, but by tho loiiislatnro, i>'avo an inuuonse 
i^piHU't unity to ;» inan skillod h\ politioal utana!4:tMnout. 

In a politioal assombly, thouoh on u tost quostion ouo party 
may l>o suro ot" a niajority, yot thoro will always bo a oortaiu 
uun\bor vU' mon whiis»> {>arti/.an tooling's aro woak, and who uro 
thorolbro opon to intluonoo. It was upon thoso intorniodialo 
nuMubors that (.'olonol l>urr know how to l>lay,^ }>artioularly 
tho intluontial oountrv ntombors, who brouijlu. to Albany tho 
purost' int out ions, »u\sophistioati>d niinds, and a>» intlamniablo 
vanity. .\. monibor of nnoouth mannors, and homospun dross, 
whonv a dainty VVdoralist Wvmld bavo tlun»>;>ht bonoath his 
notioo, Hurr was awaro juiuht bo tho gro.Mt man of a wostoni 
oounty, and oarry its voto in Ins pookot. iSuoh a mombor, 
Innstin!;- with dosiro porhaps to ht-ar his own voioo in tho 



MICMIJKU OK 'CMC; AHMKMIM-V A <} A f W. 233 

f-liJir/ilMM', jitifJ 1,f> m1)ow ljii< coti«UtiiofiJ.M hin luirix! in tli<! ucwh- 
I»!ij)':i'M, (jt)U)\u:\ lUnv would r<'fjii<!Ml/ f,o iiitrorjiuu) a ntMolution, 
or lo (Jo «r;(r)r! otlu!)' lonniil huHJru-'HS, that vvoiil'l fliitto)' liiw 

H<;IIM(; of jXJl'HrHJal f!0riH<;qiMMir;(!. Ju<l;^(! Pr-ck, foi' «!Xafllf<I<!, waH 

Hiil>j<!<;t(!rl to tliJH kin'l oC tr<'atrn(!iit, \i\\vv wuh <(xtr<!tn'fly '!<!- 
Hii'oiiH, for a wliih;, tliiit tlio pi'<!Ki'lon1,ial cluclofH xlioiiM h'j 
rliohMi <lii'r!<:tly hy tfi<; peoph*, an ho MNp|>OH(!<l th<! Stato coiihl 
\i'- ii\<)V(i oawily r<;voliiti(<nizc<] in tliat way, I'o.ck wan Kolcctod 
to inti'odnco the I'feHohitionH awkin^ for a comrnitttjo on tho 
hiihj<'';t, thoiif^h thf;i'() wci'O a 'Jozcn m<;rnh(!rH hotter ahic to 
Huppoit thoni, 

".lud^c IVck," «ayH ]Jr, II:ininion'I,* "ah,fiou;^fi a doar- 
h<;a«l(;<J, Honwihlo rnan, wan an unodncatoU ('migrant (roni Con- 
necticut. flJH appearance wan diminutive, and alrnoHt <liH/;(UHt^ 
inj^. In i'<;ll;.^iori fie wan fanati'-al, hut in hiH politic.jil viewH he 
wuH Kinf!er(', pei'Kevering, and l)old ; and, thou^fi rneck and 
hiind)l<! in hiw perHoriiil d'-rneanor, he wan f^y no rneann dcMti- 
tui': of [jerHonal arnhition. Ha wan an itinerant Kurvcyor in 
the cr>unty of Otwe^o, then a new and uneidtivated part ofthr? 
State, Ua would Kurvcy your fai'm in tiie day time, (jxhort 
and fH'ay iti your fiirnily hy ni]L(lit, and talk on politics the rewt 
of the time, I'crhupH on Sun'lay, or Home eveninj^ in the 
week, he would pri.'ach a Mcruion in your Hchool-houKC, No 
i(i;iM knew hfitter the political importance of Much a man, in a 
H(A;icty orj^anized aH the Hocicty of tlie we,st(;rn cour»tieH then 
waH, than (Jolonel IJurr, and he Kpared no painH to carjKe Mr. 
J'eck to he identified witli the Jt(;pid;lican pai'ty. ViiriouH 
anecdoteM have been related to me, which exhil^it tlie care 
which (yofonel Jiurr took to Hliape trifling matt<!rH in «uch a 
way aH to act on tfie tnind of Judji^e Peck: and otherM, ho. an to 
produce fhe great rewult-at whicfi he aimed. The Kelection of 
.Judge Peck to od'oi' tfi(! (,'l<;ctoral i'(;Holutir>nH, flattei'cd hin 
vanity ; it call<;d out upon liim th(! malediction of leading Fed- 
eralintH ; and in that way widened tlie breacfi between him 
and hin old political fViendH. Mr. liiirr, it in wiid, with e<joai 
Hkill ;uid p<;/K(n'eranc<;, applied hiniHelf to Oen<!ral Cermarj, 
then a j/lain, hut Ktrong-mit)d<'d and highly i)0]>ular farmer of 
* ll'Dii')ry of I'(/I!i!<':il I'ariUm in tli" '-'.UV: of Nov/ Y<,ik. 



•J;M 1,1 F K o K A A i; o N i:r K u . 

C'Iu'u;iUi\"o. Tho support oC llio douuHT.-it'u' oaiiso l.v tliosi' 
two mtMi was of ji'i\\'»( in\por(;moo lo lln> sueooss »>r tho Kr 
jnil>lu';>u |>;u-ty in A|M'il, lv^(»0. 1 «lo not think i( too nmoli to 
s!i_v, tli;»t \\i\y\ it not boon lor tlio p.-ipors oiroulnto^l bv .1 utlj;o 
IVok :muI l5ouor:»l (mmimmm, :uul llioir [hm'soumI oxortion :unl iii- 
tUuMU'o. tl»o wostoni *lisuiot, in tho yoar ISOO, would huvo 
boon l''oilor;il." 

Tho oK>otoial sv'homo I'ailotl in tho Sonato, through (ho o\u 
|>osition o( \ho l-'odoral Sonatons, and nothinij' roniainod lor tho 
KopuMicans l>nt tv> v\MU'on(ra(o thoir otVorts u[hm\ soourino- a 
l\<>pubhi'an niajorilv in tho K'gislatnro tv> bo ohoson in April, 
lv^(HK l>v>tbro ontorin;;- \ipon (hat oanipai>;n, (lioro aro a low 
porsv>nal inv-idotds ot' Hurr's Hto a( this poriod {o bo rohuo»l. 

In (ho suninior ol" It'.^V, Monroo and llan\iI(on ha^l an anii'ry 
oiM'rospondonoo growin;;- ini( ot' llainihv>n\s anuMir with Mrs. 
KoynoKls. A duol at v>no tinu' appoarod inovi(abh', and >\lt>n- 
roo naiiiod (.\>lonol Hurr as his soovMid. 'Pho alVair, howovor, 
was o(horwiso arranj^od. 

In thv> wintor of IVlK^, (.\Wonol l>urr sat in (ho Assoniblv at 
Albaity, ongasrod in pushinj;' privato bills, and proparing the 
way tor t'uturo o[)ovations. A n'i"!»«»d (\».'</» whioh lu> had nvoant 
to try at this srssion ua-^, lor roasous lU^w nnknowu. iliMorrod 
(ill (ho tioxt. 

Tho yoar lVi>8 was ilio linio whon (ho ii\solonoo ot" iho 
FrtMU'h Pirootory (oward (ho rni(od S(a(os jM\>vokod (ho 
gi>vornn»on( (o moasuros orro(alia(ion, winoh, tor (ho n»onion(, 
woro oonourrod in by si ji'roa( \naJority ot' tho poopio, and 
gavo an in\posing' sl>ow of strouijth to tho Fodoral party. An 
army wasvotod; Uonoral \Vashing(oi\ wasnaniod oon\n»andoi^ 
in-ohio('; llan\il(o>i was niado Ins soovind in ooniniand ; a nnnj- 
bor o(' bri^adiors woro appointoil. That (horo niiuht bo tio 
sign wantinij ot' ooinin>»; war, a oonunoroi.al vovulsion sol in, 
and (ho prisons, as ,lotVors^n\ rooords, woro full of tho luost 
vojnitablo movohants. Hauiilton, now inspootoi\si"^M»or;d, was 
tUo tbvoniost man of all (ho na(ion (for Wjishington was to 
tako oon\mand only in oaso of aotnal hostili(ios), ami about 
(ho tu'st uso ho mavlo of his now au(hori(y, w.as to'dofoat (ho 
honova\>lo .an\bi(ion of Colonol Hurr for a military appoint- 



MKMIJBIi Off rHK AHfiKM IH.Y A (i A t 7f . 233 

iru;rit. lu the lately ptibliHliod tenth vohirnc of the wor\in Of 
John A^larn.f, there w a long letter upon Ifarnilt^^n'H intrigurrw, 
wrilf.en in 1815, in which occurs* the following statement rf> 
Hpecting thi.H matter : 

" I liave never l<nowii," wrote the ex-J^reniflent, " in any 
country, the pr-'''"''"- in favor of birth, parentage, and de- 
cent more con^ tlian in the instance of Colonel liurr 
That gentleman wan connected hy blood with many respe^.-ta- 
bl«; families in New Kngiand. He was* the w^n of one prcsi- 
<l<;nt, and the grandHr^n of another jirenidfint of NaHnan Hall, 
or Princeton Univ('.r?<it,y ; th^; idol of all the PrenbyterianH in 
New York, Now Kri;.daiid, Stw JerHoy, Pennsylvania, Mary- 
land, Virginia, and elsewhere. He ha<l served in the army, 
and came out of it with the character of a knight without fear, 
and an able officer. He had afterward studied and pracXicad 
law with application and success. B(Joyed up on those r(;lig' 
ious partialities, and this military and jundical reputation, 
it is no wonder that Governor Clifjtoii and Chancellor Liv- 
ingston should take notice of him. They made him Attor- 
ney-General, and the legislature s^-nt him to Congress, as a 
.Senator, where he served, T believe, six years. At the next 
election he was, however, loft out; and being at that time 
wnnewhat embarrassed in his circumstances, and reliictant to 
return to the l>ar, he would have r(!Joiced. in an appointment 
in the 'drniy. In this situation, I proposed to General W 
ington, in a conff;r<- ' weerj him and me, and through him 
to the triumvirate ( . . -. .ington, Hamilton, and Pincknoy) to 
nominate Colonel JJnrrfor a brigadier-general. Washington's 
answer to me was, ' By all that I have known and heard. Colonel 
HiuT is a brave and able officer ; but the question is, wh(;ther 
he has not equal talenti-at intrigue ?' How shall I describe to 
you my H^nsations and reflections at that moment. He liad 
comp(;il<;d me to promote-, over the heads of Lincoln, Clinton, 
Gates, Knox, and oth<;rs, and even over Pinckney, one of his 
own triumvirates, the most restless, impatient, artful, indefat- 
igable, and imprincii)led intriguer in the United States, if not 
in the world, to be second in command nnder liirnself, and 
ii',u- (]\<:u\((\ ,')fi iiitri'nicr in ;i ?.oor bri^'adi'-.r ! If(-. did, fiow- 



UH(l 1. \ K K. O K A A IJ O N U I K \i . 

ovor, [»ropt>so il (o tho nium\ir;iu\ m( K';ts( (o Hamilton. r»u(i 
1 \V!\s not |UMM\\illo«l to uomiii.'klo liurr. IT 1 h:v«l boon, wliMl 
WtMiKl h;ivo Wvw tlio o«M»so.nuMh'os^' Sh.Mll 1 vsay \\\i\[ Uiuuil- 
Ion wouM h;no Imth now ;tli\o. ;uhl Uninilton ;»ntl r»mr now 
Mt tl\o hoad v<l" onr nlVairs? What tluMiV ll' 1 had nominatod 
Ivurr withont (ho ("onsont ol' tlio I rinm\ irato, a nt\>j:,'ati\ o in 
St^nato \vat< I'ortain." 

Thi' ^io^>'^al'h^M• ol' John Adanis (^tho i;raildson ot' thai in\- 
jH'tnons oKl patriot), j;i\ OS tMhor partiiMilavs. llo says tliat^ 
during' tho j>rt>sidonoy ol" Mw Adatus, witilo tht< l''roi\oh ox- 
oilomt^nt was at its hoi^lu, and war siH>niod oortain, Ilan\iIton, 
Kno\, and (.\ C\ rinoKnrv woro non\inatt'd as noxt in rank to 
(uMioral NN'ashington ii\ (ho army thvM\ torniin^-. l>nl it was 
\v\\ nnoortain who ol" (ho throo should l>o (ho sooond in i«oni- 
niand. Tho l"\'doraHsts olamorod t'v>r Hamilton. ^^ll;nuilton 
himsoll* doolartnl, in olW'ot, that ho Wv>uld aoot>i>t. ol" nothins;" 
loss.) Tho Trosidont invitod W.ashiuijlon to <looi<lo tho qnos- 
\\o\\. Hut hotwoo)\ tho iionoraTs prot"oronoo tor ll.an\il(on, ;\nd 
his rohiotauv'o to wvMmd tho toolings vU' tho voforan ICnox, ho 
lu'sit.atovl so louif that tho intrij;-nors y^( Avlan\s\s oaUinot a»lopl 
0*1 .an oxpodiont to liaston his dooision. " In tho t'.asual ooii- 
vorsativM\s ot" (ho oahiuot," s;tys Mr. Kr.anois Adams, 'Mho 
l*rt\sidou( h.ad lot drop si>mo int\i»\a(io>» oC a wish to uivo ji 
sharo ol" tho oon»n»issions (v> lo.adinij; tuilitary mon ol' tho o[>- 
j»osi(ion. An\ons>' iho namos niontionod by him woro (hoso 
ol" .Varon Unrr, a»ul lV(or i\lnhlonlmVi>\ ol' rounsylva»\ia. 
Knowiuji; tho strouj; disliko ontortainod <>(' tho I'ornuM- by 
WashluiitvMi, i»\(in\atlons woro sv>on jilVon him ol' tho (ondou- 
oios ol' (ho rrosidou(, .auvl (ho pv^ssibility (ha( ho miii;h( bo lia- 
Ivio (o havo Bnrr t'oroo«l upon him as q\iar(o»'-i\\as(or-s»vuoral. 
or in somo o(hor ooulidoniial post.'* This was otiouiih. Uam- 
iltvAi was soon nan\od sooouvl in oonimauvk, and Knox rosignod 
in disjynst. 

Tlwis, aija'm, Unn\iU on triuniphod, and in a signal m.annov. 
over his rival, \vhon», indood, ho sooiuod i\o\v to havo lln.ally 
distanood. Front a storv (oKl by (.xouoral WilkinsvMi, who 
visit o»l Now Vork about this timo, wo niav int'or that llau»ilton 
hinvsoU' had oonvo to rogard Hurr in tho light of a spout p»^'i 












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M K M IS K It O K I M K, A HH K M f', (, V A O |v 1 N 



2m 



tic-iuri. Wilkin.HfUi );!ii'J liis roHp(r(!tH to Oy!fM;i'!il Hfunllt/jn ;if< 
Moori fiM li(5 arrived in tfio city, wlioii tlx; followinj^ cfjiivorHJ^ 
tioii i/)ok |)l!i<',o iKftH'ceti i\n> two ofHcoi'H; 

" W<;ll, Kti)','' Hai<i WilkiriMon, "liuvin;^ lUtif^ix;'! you with my 

pijif.i.lc, I now pi'o|>oHo to vinit fin r^M f'ri<!n(l whom f h;ivr! not 

H(!(!n for Hcvcrul ytifirH ; but 1 hope th(;r(; in no rliMa/^rccfncnt 

'>>«!tw(!('n you whi(5ii mi;^ht r(!n<J<)r tho roncwal (;f'fny acquHirit- 

uiKK! with liiin in'lo(!orou« to my Huperior ofJicor." 

Ilnrriilton uhI<<:'I if he m<:!i.fit Cjolonel Lamh. 

"jNo,"wii(l WilkiuHon, "(Colonel linvv.'* 

" Litthi iJiu-r 1" (ixcJaimod IJjunilton, *' O no ; wo luive al- 
wJiyM been opp(;Me<J in politiew, Ixit always on ^ood term«, 
W(! Met oiit in tiie prac/tiee of the* law at tho Hamc time, and 
took o[)poKit,e fioMti(;al diieetionn, Uurr beckoned m«! to fol- 
lr;w hiiri, and I advined him to (some, with iru:. We could not 
a;(ree, hut I i'nucy iie now \)c^h\H to tfiink ho waa wronir and 
I wa.s ri(.^ht," 

TliiH in in a dilT'erfifit strain frofn the "ew^ryo Of/isa'f^^ epii*- 
tl(: of a, f<!W ycar» bef<n'e ; hut Hamilton wa« now talkinj^ to 
r.iin'H partieuhir friond, Iuh brother aid-de-camp in the C^iie- 
\)i:(; ('Xpfiditir^n, and bin eo/di'b^ntial (jori'eHpondent (iver Min(;e. 
J>eHide», ho. only Haid he waw on "^ood teriDH" Vith " littlo 
Burr," Tho tone of condoHeendlnj^ «uf>eri<n'ity and coriMcioiifj 
triumph in the wordn uho,<1 by Hamilton in Hpoakin^ of I»urr, 
in tlu; noticeable featur<! of Wilkinnon'M Htory, 

At tho next ncMHion ol' tlio lej^inJature, I7(MI, Colon*;! Hurr 
obtained u signal advanta;-;" ovrr' ih" wriilil,.- I'^doralist^ of 
the city. 

At that time there waM, boHidew a branc/h of the iJard^ of tfio 
United HtatoH, but one \>;ii\ki\i<j; iiiHtitutifni in the city of New 
York, and that waH crHitrollod by FfidoruliHtx, who, aH the 
lvepul>!i<;anK alleged, UH^d their powcrn for the furtheranc*! of 
the I<'(;deral cauwo, iJoth oftluiHO hafik« w(5re, to a coriMiderft- 
hl(! d(!^ree, tin; creation of (Jeneral IIafnilt(Mi, and )>oth woro 
inelinod to support and advaruK? the author of their exiMtence. 
The li«-pubru;an nuu'chantM, it in naid, fiad lout,' been ac-un- 
tonio.d to Hi:(: tlioir Podcu'al r!f>m(»«'titorH " ar.riomrnodatod" by 
the baijJiH, wliil'- their own af;f)lie.al,ionH i'dV aid woro Huporcil- 



1>;)8 1. 1 1'' It: <> I** A A no n nn i; k. 

ioiisly i-cfiiscil ; ;iinl il- \v;is llicir cliprislu'd sohotno to csl.-il)- 
lisli ;i l»!mk \\\\\vh slioiild l»(' as «'(mi|>laisaiit toward l.licm as 
tli(« " r.anii ol" Now York" was sii|i|t()S(Ml to 1»(> to tradors of 
tlu> nlliiT parly. I'>iil. lliis was dilliruK. IJcsidcs a clironio 
]>r(Jiidi(io a^'aiiist hanks in tin- poitular mind, they Iiad to oon- 
Icnd ai-'ainsl a I'VMlt'ral majority in llu' Icn'islatiiri", wliicli alono 
could j;rant a charter. In tlu«s(> circninslanccs, (.\)Iomc1 Unrr, 
hv an inn'cnions inancu\cr, acconiplislicd wliat, by direct 
means, coiihl not liavc l)ccn ihiuc. 

'V\\c \r\\i)\\ I'cvcr had I'occntly ma<h' (h-t^adlul nivajjfos in tlio 
city, and impressed upon (he peoph' llu> imporlaiKH' of secnr- 
\\\<X a snppiy ttrhetler water than lliati l'urnish(>d hy llie brack- 
ish wells in tlu^ lower pai't^ ol' th(< islainl. Ibirr axailed liim- 
NcH'of this state ofpuhlie ieelinu^. 'I'lie lej^islatnrc w<"r(^ asked 
to charter the Mdnluitlitii (\unp(Oii/^ loianed lt»r the ost(Misi- 
ble puipost^ of supplyini;" llu» iiity with water, but. the real ob- 
ject ol' which was to supply Kt-publicans M'illi llu> s'm(>WM of 
war. It was micerlain, tlu> petitioners said, how nuieli ea[>it!ll 
tln> pi'oposed wat(>r-works wotdd rtMpiire, but us it was hij^hly 
(lesirabl(> not to risk l';iilni-i> by a (hMicieney of eapital, they 
asked authority to raise two millions of dollars. In all proba- 
bility, they added, this would bi« loo much, and, thereforo, 
they |)ro[)osed to insert in the churtiM" a provision that, "//it" 
mtrp/iis' ('ti/>if(fl Diiijht he rin/>/(\i/t'(/ in any iroi/ not iticoiim'nt' 
('fit init/i. the laipii and (\)nfitt'tiiti'on of the United /Statei^, or of 
the iSt((te oj' Xeio )'()/*/»•,'' The bill passi>d botli Houses us a 
matter of eoinse, few members eviMi so much as readinij; it, 
and none, «>\i'ept those who were in the secret, suspecting 
that. " iMaidiattan Company'" meant .iranhattitn lidti/c. liurr 
gained oreat applanst< amouLi' the leading Kepublii'.ans for his 
atb'oitiu>ss in this atl'iir, but, lu> lost I'haracter with the people, 
and the act. stands justly condi'mncd in thi> records of tho 
tinte. 

These are llie tiaked facts of thi« all'air; but ther<' wero 
palliating circumstances, beside the alleged misuse oi' the cap- 
ital ol" the other bank. It was proposetl in the select com mit- 
t(\' o[' the Sen.aU', to which the bill was referred, to strikeout 
tluM-lause i-elating to the use of tlu> snrpbis capital; wliere- 



M K M I? IC U OK T \i K A 8 S K M B L Y A O A I N . 239 

upon n mf-mbcT of tlio committee .'ip|)lifcf] to Colonel liiirr for 
an oxplanfition. Burr avowed tlie He.sifjn of" using ty)e .surplus 
capital to eHtablish a bank, or an East India Company, or any 
tiling else the directors might choose, since merely furnishing 

city of fifty thousand inhabitants with water would not ye- 
rnunerate the stockfioldcrs. The bill was afterward referred 
to the Chief Justice of the State, who advised its rejection on 
accountof the unlimited powers conferred by the surplus clause. 
Means were found, however, to overrule his objections, and 
Governor Jay signed the bill. Nevertheless, the great fact 
r(!mains, that, in this business, Colonel Burr sought one object 
under cover of another, a kind of political management which 
can never be commended, and seldom excused. 

Whether any show was ever made of bringing in the water, 
does not appear; but the /xm/t; was imtncdiately established, 
and soon Ixicame an institution of the first imprjrtance. And 
thougli it was one of the engines of JJurr's political destruc- 
tion, yet, in, after years, when fic was obscure and powerless, 
the Manhattan bank, as I have been told, was not unmindful 
of the man to whom it owed its establishment, and showed 
him favors which it would not have granted to any other in his 
situation, "^ 

The immediate effect of the Manhattan affair was injurious 
to the Republican party. In the spring of 1799, Burj- was a 
candidate for retileotion to the Assembly, but before the elec- 
tion occurred, the secret of the Manhattan company escaped, 
and a prodigious clamor arose. A pamphlet apj>earc(l de- 
nouncing banks in general, and in particular the means by 
which Burr had sprung a new one upon a bank-fearing city. 
The newspapers took up the story, and meetings denounced 
the dexterous maneuver.- The result was, that Burr lost his 
election, and, what was worse, the whole Republican ticket 
was defeated, and the Repu}>lican cause, which before had 
been gaining ground, received an ominous check. This was 
the more o.erious from the fact that, in twelve months more, 
the legislature was to be elected upon which would devolve 
the duty of choosing presidential electors! 



240 



I, I W 10 O K A A I! i) N II tl l{ K>. 



In tho MHiniiHT ul I 'ilM», (\'l«>in>l Www roiif.lil liis lli'.sl (lll(^I. 
Tlioro wiiN II piooo (>r MOMiitliil (M'l iilloiit in (lio Sl;il«, to tlio 

oh't'Ol (lull, Tor l('j-iMlll(i\ l< MOfNIin'M I'tMuliTtMl, \\\C llollllllil l<llt)(l 

<\iiii|»iiiiv liii'l <';iii>'''l«'<l ;i l"'ii'' I"'''' !i,",!iiiiH(. Itiirr I1m' iwt'iily 
tlioUNiiiul (lullitrN. A jji'i'iillomtm iiiiiiuol .lol'iii II, ('liuroli, had 
M|u»lv(Mi w illi MO iiiiii'h l\'(nnloiii r(>M|Mn'l in-.^ I lio nimoi', mm t(»(>liolt. 
i'l'oni (lio nIiiiuIoioiI Io^imIiUoi' ji I'hallcnjj.i^ to inorl.'U I'oiuhiit.. At 
lloltoKoii, on (lii> V'll ol" So|tl<'nil>t'i\ llio piwlitvs met, iiUoinlt'd 
l'\ llh'ir Ncooiuls Mild ii siii'm'on, A ridiciilouM inoidont. vari«>d 
the wi'll Known roii(iin> v>l' (lu' |>i'oiv>('diii;j|;M, tind I'lirnishod (lio 
low n s-',osNi|i Willi II ioko iind n l>v word lor niMiiv ii diiy \\v 
I'oi'o li'ii\ iiisj. I loi no, t 'o Ion t'l l>m'i' lind hoon |t'ii'lioul)ir to rxplfiiii 
1o liiH Mooond, .liid).',<> Uiiilvo, ol' South (^U'olinii, tliiit tho Imlls 
w (TO oiinI |0(> Miiilll lor Inti pistuls, inid (h:i( olnniois l<>)ilhor, 
out to (lit> ni'o|tor sm\ niiisl ho i^'ivtis<>d iind piil itnnid tlioiu to 
niidvo tliiMu 111, l.oiithor Iind v'.'i'Oii.so \\ oi-o plivood in thiMVLso 
with tlio |ii;Uoln. ,\l't>'r tho in'inoi)>;ilM luid boon plaood, Ihirr 
noti^'od .ludu.o Ihii'ko wiinlv oiid(>a\ orini>' to di'ivi> in tlio ram- 
rod w iih n ;iioni\ ;ind Ml onoo NUMpoolod lh,'ii iho >.>i't>aso had 
hoon tor^oKon. ,\ iiioniont Mllor, llio pi.siolwMs liMi\dt>d to 
Inin, With that singular oooIiio.s.h whiolt howaMwont to «>\.. 
hihil at orilioal inoniiMits, ho tlrow tho r;nni't>d, It'll of tho hall, 
and told tho iiid,!->'o it w a,s not lioino. 

"I know it," ropliod tin* sooond, wipinv, tho porspiratitni 
tVoin his iaoo, " I lor^Mt. to j;M'«>a,st» tho loathor; lm(, yon soo, 
vonr man is r<>ady ; don't Koop liiin waiting;, .Inst t;ilvo tv 
oraok vas it is, and I'll groasv^ tin* nosl." 

Shots w vM'o »'\ohangod without oll'oot. Mr. ("'hniolt I lion 
n»ado tho rovpii.sito apolosjiy, and tho partios rotnruod [o ihi* 
otty in tin' hij,!,hoMl good hiiinoi'. 

'Phis alVair v>l' tho lh>lland CvMnpany's bond was in>vor os 
plaiiuul tv> tho puMiv' hy Colonol IJiirr, tlnni^^h (ho moans of 
doin^j; ,sv> woio at h;md. llo novor in his lit'o toidv pains \y\ ro- 
l\tto a oalinni\y ii\ a pnhlio maninM\ ov show »hI mnoh roj;'ard I'or 
what is oallod pnhlio opinion. This was both a point o( pridt* 
and a oonsiitntional poonliarity. ,ll wns a »piality whi»'h .alono 
nuisi, somo tiin«^ v>r othor, h;»vo \n;ulo him an iin.n ail.iblo oan- 



M V, ,Vf /! K I!. O »f '»' f» K A M « K M »! », V A O A J ,'/, '/41 

«TKl;it,<; for un ofIic<j i/i f,h<! p;if'>, of iho poopU; ; for iha ftUftlft' 
ffMfi(, of (;oj;i(l;iiif,y in a r<;(>iil;lic, i» a pttiuly, a pur«nif,, « f.MKt^ 
fthout wliir,li ji ffiun ffiiiM, tM',vi;r \ni v,t\ri:\t:m. li(rtm; in n-]m\h 
Ii<',«, ;i,rtc'f' tfio oM v'trimt i« ^jxhwiwtofl, HfcJ boforo iUh ucw 
viH.(«! nt:(^iuv('M Hircityl^t, only uotu^dU'uM mid Uyfto<mU'.H nm 
nv;iil;if;l«: ; f.inoc, f,o l.rix! ffi<;n, Iho v«!ry i/l«!;i, of w.c.Uhtf^ ]ih\i\u 
hi\''\\.y 'm \(i',i\.\m}Uu;. liiirr vvft't not, \ui\(;i'A\, ft rlownrl^lit 
Htr(d(jlaj'orm(i!nl\)u\\SM^\'M\^ mv^\ %% (m^y mut fvUfitrcn m<\ no 
tnu; ntt]>]if>riH; bni \ii; fnvcr <U'M'Am(h}d to ilio tucnn ftrf,« of 
tiiiiU'iut/ \K^rH(tun\ <;}i\)tUd. 

VVi»,l) r<;(/,'i)'r) to tfii.; su'.an^Jfil, lio h?i'l l;ut to wtiow tfiat tfir? 
(;;uu;<;lintr of th*; honrj waw fi [/«rrfl!(H,ly U"/hifn',tU'. tmnxa^^-ion, 
hy which })<! loM/, not ^fnirrrf^l — ffw?t,» kr»ownt'; hulfji do/^n p<?r- 
KOhH who«f! worfl no on<! wonhJ hav^j 'Joti)>t<!<l— ^tn^l it wtmhi 
t)(;vo-r whru havo h<}<rn ni<!ntion<;^l to h'\n iVif.c.rt'A'si. fJtit iSt\n 
xli,t/ht c/;nf;<"wion his fx'i'l*; r<;f'ijft<!/J. To u fVi<!n'l who mUcA ior 
Ml <!Xj;l,'ination, fi" '■f'l 'f' i'":t,n of tfi<j wwc, mi'l jwhi'^^l 
th<M<! wonl><: "'I I. iinn? in my life thjtt Jhavo 

(:5</n<J'!>w;^n'J<!<J (par'Jon tfi<? oxf>n?>»»iot») t^; rfjfntft ft mhttnity. T 
I(!fiVf; it to fny tu'X'toup, to »p<ruk for tfif-ffiHolvf!**, »f<'l to my H\tfir' 
tit±i-r to cofifourrrJ tlio i'tci'urttn <fi' p,\!uu](',r, Aik\ on tfii« v<'Ty 
«nhj<!f^, I hfi,v«5 not up to this( honr j^iv^^n on<j word of <!«phma 
lion to any hnman Uiinpf. All tfi<; hxyUumiUm tfiat can ho 
;<iv';n amounts f,*)» no moro tlmri ih\»'^7yuU tM thintj in an 
oJjHtdiUii (j/nd <ih(mmi.(i.hlA l/k.'*^ 

It Ho<i« not i\]t]ic',\.r that hi» n'\U;tU'4; witfi rcfi^strd to th<! rumor 
fJi'J any f><rn!<!j4,ihh; A'amiwjc to IJnrr at th^5 tim<!, Vtc.ihn; hi« 
own party hiH cUnrnt-.h-.v Khon<! with all itx |;rf;vio»w In^tcr, and 
no w':ll-infornn;'l K<;M«!ra)i»t (;<;uhJ boliovo ft >»V/ry x^> ground- 
l*!W« an'l irnprohahh;, N(!V(?rth<jl(j««, «/*// whi^p'^r nt//,itmi> a 
nian'H honor, wh<;th«;r prohahh; or ifnprol/aW*!, wh^'thor W 
li«-,v<;'l or Hf/>uU;(\^ p)<f;;i.r<;» th<! way for th<; »lan'h;r« that )>hmi 
hi« ^y»od narri' f' ■ < /<;r. 

Til'; circnn. ofCJolorifjl Hurr at t)ii« time w*rf<!, fw Mr. 

A'laffiH >ilat^!d, <'mharr{wwj<J, Thi« wm chiefly owing to the 
«nforl,Ufiato i«»u*! of '.< .(ain land «p*!«ulationM in which ho had 
partic(p;i.t</|, and to hin devotion to f;oliticf(. in* pnt/rf,iw, 
however, v/fi^ M// larg«; that, witfi proj/er caro and average for- 

II 



242 LIFE OP AAEON BURR. 

tune, he would have recovered his losses, and founded an 
estate. But just now, more than ever, there was a demand 
for all the resources of his mind in j^reparing for the impending 
struggle between the two great parties. To this contest he 
had devoted himself. 



CHAPTER XV. 

THE ELECTION OP 1800. 

Aloomt Peospectb of the Republioans — BuRE Confident — Federal Errors — Ab- 
eest of judub peck — hamilton's scheme for cheating the people — john 
Auams'b Narrative — Burr's Tactics — He Wins over General Gates — Judob 
Livingston and Governor Clinton — IIamilton and Burr at the Polls — Thb 
Victory — Hamilton's Unworthy Expedients — Bubb Fbusteateb theu — Thb 
Tie Between Jefferson and Bitre. 

It "svas Aaron Bun* who taught the democratic party how 
to conquer. 

The pi'ospect was gloomy. As the time for choosing presi- 
dential electors drew near, it became apparent that the State 
of New York would decide the contest in the Union, and that 
the city -would decide the contest in the State. To every 
leading Republican in the country, except one, defeat looked 
inevitable. John Jay, in 1798, had been elected governor 
over Chancellor Livingston by a majority of 2,382, which was 
then a great majority. In 1799, the Republican ticket in the 
city, headed by the name of Aaron Burr, had been defeated 
by a majority of 900. In April, 1800, the electing legislature 
was to be chosen. Jefferson might well say, as he did say, 
one month before the New York election, that he considered 
the contest more doubtful than that of 1796. But Burr would 
not admit the idea of failure. He breathed the fire of hisown 
sanguine disposition into- the hearts of his followers, and kept 
every fiiculty on the alert to take instant advantage of the en- 
emy's mistakes. 

His house became the rendezvous of the more ardent and 
resolute members of the party, who were proud of their chief^ 
and confident that in the abounding resources of his ingenious 
intellect alone lay the means of victory. Mi-. Davis tells us 
that this devoted band was composed of young men of gal- 



'211 1,1 K K O V A A K () N IM' K K. 

iMiit boariii!.^ niul disin(«MvsUMl viiMVs, wlio bi'lu'Ul in Colonel 
Uiur !V i>:itri<>t lioro oftlio Ilovoliilion, who li.-nl inin<;-lo(l witli 
(lu«ir ililhors on tlio bntllc lii<l<l, niul |H'nU>il his :ill in their 
ODunlry's o.uiso. In this ««iirU^ no hu'Ml or i)ors(ni!il intoivsts 
woro aUowoil to b«> .lis(Miss('(1. Ono objoot nUnio was ever 
ini>ntioni>il ov i'(nisiii(>ro(l, Mml ihal was tho trinmph of tlio Ki^ 
l>ublii'an |>ait v. Tho taK>nts, iUc (MUMgy, tlio ivi-kh'ss fonrauv, 
an«l (hi> v«H'lvh'ss oonorosily of (ho yonnu; politicians, whom tiio 
l:ls^•inatin<;• niainior and i-hivalrous sontinu'nts ol* Coloni'l I>nrr 
i>a<l atlraotod and h>aunod aronnd him, aiv tostiliod to 1)y 
many writors ol' tho (inu>. 

Thon il was thai tho i>arty bo^an to submit to that (I/xci- 
^>//;/(' which uavo i( (wonty-livo yoars of viotory. "All who 
innnboivd ihomsoU os as its mombors," says IVofossor Kon- 
wiok (/.(/*fi 0/' ./>(! 117/^ (Vhtfo/i), '' wcvo roquirod to yield 
implii'it obcdionoo (o the will of its majority; that maji>iity 
was mado to movo at tho bot-k of i'i>minittoos, which concon- 
trat(>d the power in the hands of a lew individuals. Denunci- 
ation as a traitor was the fate o\' him who vtMitured to act in 
conformity to his individual opinion, when it did not meet 
with the general sanction." This onmipotent ors;-ani/,ation 
was not completed in a campaign, but it be<;an in 1 ■?!>!>, and 
•Xrew tMit o\' the prect>|)ls and the examj^le oi' Aaron Pxu-r and 
his ' myrmidons.' 

Tho elVorts of Burr and his friends were most opportunely 
assisted by tlu> errors oi' (he Federalists. The g-ovornmont 
was exasperating a loyal nation by its stringent enforcement 
of (lu> Alien and Sedition Laws. Tiiirty thousand Frenchmen 
and tive thousand "Vnited Irishmen,'" rel'ugees iVinn politii'al 
storms at home, now felt themselves nnsafe in tho land which 
ha*l been extolled as the avsylum for the oppvessod of all na- 
tions. Tliey weie loud and furious against the law which 
empowiMcd the President to banish aliens whom /w slumld 
tleeni vlangerous to the iH>aeo oi' (he I'nited States. Among 
the victims of the Sedition Law was the pii>us politician, J udgC* 
Peek, who was prosecuted for merely cironlnfhuif a bitterly- 
worded j(»('^<V/()/j tor (he repeal of (he odious laws. "Nothing 
bi>ttiM- could have ha]>pened lor the lu'publicans. A bench- 



T 1/ K K i. K C ']• /ON O I- ) BOO. 245 

vvaii;i;il wa.s iHHucfl, Pock was arroHU;'! in Otsoji^o, arul con- 
v(;y<;<l all tli(; way to New York, aHonJinj^ to the State an un- 
paialleled and ioiihIh^ Hpectade. " A linndred ummiuavMiH m 
the cauHe of democracy," rernarkn \)v. Hammond, " stationed 
between New Yoik and Coopei'Htown, could not have done so 
jnuch for the Ji,e|>uhliean cause as the joui-ney ofJud^^e I'eck, 
as a prisoner, from Otsego to New Yoik, It was nothing less 
than the public exhibition of a suffering martyr f<>r tfie free- 
dom of speech and the press, and tlie right of petitioning, to 
tlie view of tfic citizens of tfie various places through which 
the marshal traveled with his prisoner." 

Vet such was the hori'or of democracy in th(5 no)lh(;rn 
States, after the total failure of the French Revolution, and 
such was the strength of old lial^its and ideas, tfiat even events 
like these were tiot sufficient to change the jjolitics of the 
nation. 

Jiut there was trouble brewing between the i''(;deial lead- 
ers. In spite of his eabin<;t, Mr. Adams had made pi^ace with 
France, and thus frustrated the military aspirations of (ieneral 
Uajfiilton. Besides, Adams was a most unmanageable man. 
He did not like Ilatniltou, and Hamilton could not endure 
him, and was detei'tnined, by fair means or l>y foul, to get rid 
of him. By fair means, this could not have been done, for, 
in New England, the home and stronghold of Federalism, 
Adams was tlie strongest man. Hamilton's sclieme was, tliat 
.John Adams and C C I'inckney should be the Federal candi- 
dates for President and Vice-I 'resident, but I'inckney shf>uld, 
by secret maneuvers, be rriade to receive a vote or two tnore 
than Adams, and thus be elected to the first oflice. The peo- 
ple 'were to he deliberately cheated. They were to be deluded 
with the idea, that, while voting for ceitain legislators, they 
were voting John Adams into a second term of the I'resi- 
d(;ncy ; but their votes were really to have the effect of put- 
ting Adams hack again into the Vice-1'residency, and of 
making General I'inckney I'resident ! 

John Adams's own graphic version of the story is as fol- 
lows: "Hamilton marl(j a journey to iioston, I'jovidence, etc., 
to persuade the [;eople and th<4i' legislatures, but without sue- 



Uifl ^^^\f Id O K A V i; l» N II I' i; IC. 

ooMM, to throw Hwny >*on\o of tlt««ir vol on, iIdu. Ailmns mi^lil, 
not \u\\o {ho uiiuuiuhMiM vottM'l" Now I'luu'lniul ; ooiisomuMiily, 
tluU I'moKnov \\\\f,\\{ ho luoits^lil in !is l'ros'nlt*nt, jnhl Adunis 
ft!« N'looProx'uh^nt. \N'nshu»^'li>n wiis ilotnl, nn.l (ho t'iuoiiuiati 
>Vo\'0 nsMoniblo*! !>t Now \ oiK to ol»o*>so Uinnillon lot' llioir 
uow Pi'i>sitlont. Wholltor lio jMiMioly opiMiod liis projoot to 
tl»o wliolo assoinhly oT tlio Cinv-inntiti or not, I will not suy ; 
l>nt v>l' this 1 li.'uo Ndoli proof !\.>( I ottn nv>t »lonl>t, nnutoly, that 
ho hr\>noh<Hl it pi'ivittoly to siioh nuMnhors us ho o»n>M trust; 
for tho UnuMnHl jnul pious ihu>tor!j, l>wij^'ht tuul U.uloook, who, 
h.Hvin^^' hot'n ohuph^ins In tho finny, woro tlu>n dttontliny; us 
two lovoi'ond Knights o( tho oriltn-, with thoir hluo rihbous 
luul hi'iv;ht tnis^los nt thoii' sahlo button holos, woio lu'nrd [o 
8uy vopoHttHJly in tho iMoni wIivM'o tho sooioty n»ot, * UV titmt 
vS(»«»*'(A\t* vltA»m«v,* * II V tnHat mt'i'^/iii:^ Aihwh^J' Of this iHot 1 
huvo s\to)» ovi*h>noo thitt I should Uiun* to fvppoul. it" it wort* 
worth w l>ilo, to [ho only survivvr, l>r. l>\\i>\ht, oC Now llavon 
I'nivorsity. 

" Ahout tlto S!Uuo iiuu>. w alki»ii»: in tlvo stroots of rhiliulol- 
pliin. I iuo( on (ho opposito siilowallv, (,\>lotu>l Josoph Lyn>;ui, 
of Sprini>tU>UI, v«no of tho uu>st {uniohh* nun in CVuij^^rojis, und 
ono of tho »uost oiuulitl »non in th<> wt»rKl, As sov>n ns ho shw 
int> ho vMHvsso^l mor u> my si^it* o( tlu> stroot, atul saiil, "Sir, 1 
owKsx \»vor to tt'll you svuno nows,' * Ay ! what nows? I 
hopo it is ^^^H>*1!* ' U;>niiUv>n hus tiivivUHl tho hNnUinUists, sun! 
prv>posovl t\> thon\ tv> u'ivo you tho jio-by, nnvi brin^v* in Pitu'k- 
\u\v. 4\Y this slop ho hrts tUviiUHl X\\o Fovlornlists, juul i»-ivt>n 
jiTont otVonsoto tho hvM\ostost purt of thou\. I {un ul;ul o( it, 
tor it will ho tho ruin (A"^ his Ijiouou.* My .'Uiswor was, '(,\»hv 
uol Iauuui, it win ho, as you shv, tl>o vuiu of his fnotion ; hut. 
it will also ho tl\o ruin o( honostor nun than any of thoni.' 
Auvl with thoso wvuvls I nuuvhovl v-u, autl lot^ hin» tv> niaroli 
tho v>thor wav.' 

" I was svH>n al\orwarvl intoruu^l, by porsoual witnossos ;nui 
privato lottors, that Uaniiltou havl assouibUnl a n»ootiu>j of tho 
wti«ous auvl n\avlo an olabovato harau^ijuo to thon\. llo spoko 
of tho lNvsivlov\t> Joh»\ AUanus will* ivspoot ! liut with what 
ivspoot^ I loavo you, sir, to ov^yootuiv. Uamiltiui sovmi ivt\or 



'I n y. i'.i.Ki'/ii<>M o ).' J J^ , 24 T 

«5ftll<;'l nu<A.\ii.r ',iut\ uiort', nt'.crtd t',iiu'',nn U> in't'iini", a UfX hi 
r<?pr<!it<;fjtjif,iv<;» ihf tJ)<; city oi' St',w York, hi »,h<ir HtwO? l<t<;^' 
islutur^j, wii') went to t;\thhm <?l«;r;t//r« oi' i'lfniiUfUi mul Vj/^v 
I'«<;»j'j<;»(f/. !(♦? fJx<?4 Upon tt IJxt t/f li'm own frUffuh^ pm^tU tjf 
YitxUt wtnj/hi or c/fumiU'ruihnt m tUa city or iUc c/mniry. IJurr, 
wiio liJi'J incmdii 'm all t^\t'('\*'M, \m\ a (•yit\ty o\'i\m Iwt \)rt>ui()iiio 
h\ut iiiinn'.<l'i',iU'.\y, Il<j icnil i»- ov<:r, with p^ftJut j^mviiy \'<AiU:i\ 
it up, |/(if, it in hii« |;0''.k<d, fio'i without ritt'-rinj/ ',ii.'d\t".r word, 

A/)'i h<; r<;;t))y A//// hifr» )ioilow. Iti a motmmif th<j mmtm 
of canyinpj th« dty, iij;on wfii/5h all <Ut]H'M<h',i\f Wnnht'A nyou 
hi« itt'uA; imi\ h<; proi'j'M'U'.il fz/rihwitfi to t'.xi'.cnU; ih<5 ntfhi^mn. 

IIi« III at ^-.t*;)/ wfi*tio \iri'Y,irt', a li^it h\' (•MuW'inU'M to fcpritM^ui 
iiiii ('4iy jfi th<! A»»<;r/»f/ly, Hut » <Jiffii'/Ulty ttro«<« at tlwi y<^y 
onimi: llmnihoit^n wUoUi J»<?art wjw j» thw tfU'MUm^ mtdit 
wm fA-iUitii that h«} would tal«5 hn fu^AVti \tHrnoui%\ pari \u tho 
t;',uu]i'.u')iu ; and that, parti'jMlaHy, tUn'ut'/^ th<; thr<?<j day» of 
th<; (:\'U'X'i<)tty hi« hat'af(gU(;« to th«} j;;<jopJ«! would h<j moi'fj <;fiVft» 
iv<j than <jv<jr \>hi'orn. IJurr, f/oo, ruu»t h« ou tf«« ground. 
It wa« a)M/> thought Iudi«pO'U»ahl<j to th« c/nnpUsUi nwA'Aim </f 
th«! |/lan, that h<j should h^j a tm;tn\t(fr oi' th<5 l«jgi»latur<;. iiut 
if hi« naru'j w<;r<! o/i th*; city ti'jkct, it would nnnirhW/M h\n 0,%^ 
crlioiip,^ fw, )»*! would »<!«;;/t t^/ hh <;l«!<dJon<!c;'iug aud liaraugulug 
for hifn»<;lf. Horu<i vot«» would alK'/ b<j divcitc/1 front the It<j- 
puhlican »i/l<5 )/y th<j mi'/Alct^iioft of I/firr'w agency in the AIa«>. 
)(attan IJftnk affair. In thi>, dileninia, hwan nufsji/fnU'A that h« 
fthoiild f/«j a candidate for the A^tenihly in Orange c/^untv, 
where he wa» Sit-.s.U-s known and more popular than in any 
other <5</ur)ty. Thi^s part of the phu wm c/mWiU'A U> influ^rrj- 
tJal Democrats of that atfUiiiy, and, it may an well he stated at 
once, wfw HtW('A'.mi'n\. 

'V\i'iH matter di«po»ed of, the c»ty ticket w;i;< drawn up. 
With matchle»?« audacity, iJurr propoi»<<;d to hiw c^/n federate;* 
the. foDowir/g pf.rwitin m ('MnihUiU.H i'or the As-.j-.e/zihly, At 
the hcvl of hix iU'Mid, ho pifuaul the name of George ClJri- 
ton, )w^ long the Governor of the Ktate, now ro'tirtj'J from 
all puhli'; employ nn;nt«, and decli/<ing into the vale of year«. 
Next came the name, not lejw di«tinguij«hed, of the '^mqueror 



•JtS 1. 1 F K IM' V A Iv O N H U U U . 

of JJm-goYiu\ Oononil UoinUo Uaios. TIumi rollowoii J^iuniiol 
Osoooii, lltMirv Kutj;v>'f*. l''l'>!i** NoiisiMi, Thomivs Sturm, (iooruo 
AVanior, rhilip J. Aivulariiis, .laiiios Hunt, K/.ok'u'l Kv»l)bins, 
Urookholst. Liviugst.ou,niul .lolm Swart wout. ; nil oftluiii oi-n- 
llomoii \vlu>, t'or one roasoM i>r anollu-r, aildod j>0(."uUar slrotijilh 
to tl»o tiokot. Ossi'ooil, for oxamplr, liail boon a inoml>or ot' 
Oouivross, aiui Wash'mut oil's Post mast or-(.iouoral, ami was rt 
man of tho higliosl oslimatlon in tho oity. Liviiu;ston was a 
vory ominont lawyor, alUMwai\l .huli;o oi' tho Supremo Court 
oflho Ihutotl Statos. llo was a son of that (.u>vonior of "Now 
.lorsov whoso nohio oulouy of Kurr's fathor 1 liavo olsowhoro 
ijuotod. Swartwout, vory ]>opuh»r for Ins manly boaring ami 
amiablo qualilios, was Hurr's n>ost Jovotoil tV'uaul. Tho namo 
i>f Kutiivrs is still familiar in a "Now Torkor's oar, as it lives in 
that of the slrool where ho vesiiUHl. In a word, Burr's tiekot, 
from the eelobrity of some of its names, tho eminent respeot- 
ability of others, auvl tho peculiar ^n^pularity o( tho vesi. was 
the strongest ever otVered tor the popular sutVragvs in this 
State. Above all, it was mi ob^ ious and striking eontvjist to 
Hamilton's. 

To draw up an imju^sing oataloo-uo of names is not }\ diffi- 
cult feat. To induce those gentlemen to sta\ul was a matter 
beset with ditliculties, such as, perhai>s, no man in tho world 
oould have overcome but Aaron l>urr. The eoi\sent of tho 
nine less known persons was obtained "without nmeh trouble. 
r>ui OUnton, Livingstoji, and (\atos, each ropresenlinii- a tac- 
tion of the great Kopubliojui party, oacli with personal aims, 
elaiuis and jealousies, neither disposed to act with the others, 
were, tor a long lime, deaf to arguments and to entreaties, 
and imuiovahlo in their resolve not to allow their names to 
be used. Gates was one of liurr's peculiar adherents, and ex- 
tremely averse to Hamilton and Schuyler, with whom ho had 
been ill friends over since the tin\e of tho cabal hi the revolu- 
tionary war. Yet neither his friendsliip for Uurr nor his en- 
mity to Schuyler, nor his ptirty spirit, nor all those together 
were strong enougli to overcome his repugnance to being a 
oaiuHdaie. Livingston proved the most tractable. Atler rev 
pealed interviews, IJurr wrung from him a reluctant consent. 



rilK KI.KCTIOX OV 1800. 2*9 

to rnu, f^fwi/hd G(fVf!mor Clinton and Gtmarai (hiXm warn 

J jij a ^.m^-at f^>i'fit %mtuii\, hurr now aj/pJWI himmWUt 

(fHien HJlh rtAonhUid ^rncrgy. Titffre are vagae tradttujnn 
that the art with whieli Burr work^A nym the f/AlAm and 
j' among tJj' =« of hi* peeti- 

li;»i .-;-.... ... '.hfjr <:r-- -J j,'i r<*//rt*sd to 

importunate per ., and t ;. ;>, indorsed &iht4, 

to «ay that he would rtand, if Gftvifrtior Clinton woald, 

IJut Clinton wa« the }jarde«t ea»e of all. Clinton'* friends 
called hirn a very firm man ; hiij Ofj»jKinent« thought him very 
o)tni'iuntt;. Mh i>f)rtT ' ' >'« the ' ■ (\owmt\<i)* ' ',-/■ 

HhU:, north-Ireland - u^r of ..an. Jie .... „;/;k 

hu«hy ey<^brow«, a well develojK^l low<f^ faee and double 
chin, a dtmA large mouth, a scrutinizing look out of the eye«, a 
good rruAmui ihrahttHd. with hi» scanty gray >iair com>>ed up to 
hide it» 1/ald ' ' ' -; plahi, ' ' " ^/f 

an ^' '''-•'♦. wa;^. . der, J. .-, ^,,,< .:. ••,.. .-.a/l 

J,/ 1$ to t ^ . In 17§3, when he re<;<;Jved 

fifty electoral v«^/te» out </f a hundred and thirty-two, and Je^ 
ferson had but four, it was Clinton, not Jefferson, that seerncd 
to V; on t' ' ■ rotui U} 1/ 'm. Tltfi r*;nr 

korr-. ^}.i::*. '. ■■. ■■■^^■- <' ■.-;,.■ --./carer seldom 

';'/?;■,;;,';<; r . , ^ ;. H-ord, Geor:'^; Lin- 

ton did not Vika TiunnaH .l<ifl'f',mrjn. He was now f . to 

stand for the AmamlAy, itfV the sole jutrpfmc of helping J<^jrr- 
-on int/^j the ■ ' ; and he wa* a»k<^l t^> do this 

oy 1,})'; man v. - - - ' ' ^ - - v/hen George 

(Jiinlon was i , ^ i a j^er^^n of 

national imf<ortan<;e, had in 1707 rec^vr^l thirty electoral 
votes to Clinton's four ! ~ Governor O'mUm was an able and 
p<it rJMic man, but such j>ersonal considerations as thr;se have 
an :- " ■ V !. ^ ., , ry bes^t of*' ■--■■--._ 

i> . - ../ctlianto v.... ,, ,. .',i>5 strong, 

pr<g)di*j«d, d«d^^mine^J man to the purp^.»s*^ of the f/arty. 
Clint^m said that he did not think higl»ly of Jif:iferson's*tate«- 
rnxn-hip, and ha/1 n«^4^ faith in his sincerity as a HfiimhUcan^ nor 
c'v^rn in his int^^-grity an a rnan. lie thougfit him a f/nmr/i^/" ; 



250 M F K O F A A R O N r. U R K . 

and so tliiiikiiif,', ho s:iul lie could not conscientiously support 
him for the highest ofliee. " But," said the governor, on one 
occasion, "if you, Mr. Ikxrr, were the candidate for the pres- 
idential chair, T would act with pleasure, and with vigor." To 
such objections as these, Burr replied in his mild, persuasive 
way, with not the smallest ap|)earance of eifect. Committees 
and sub-committees and individuals, by turns, besieged the 
governor's ear, for three days. Tiiere was a final interview 
at length, between the governor and the nominating com- 
mittee, at Burr's own house. All the old arguments were used, 
and new ones offered. The committee exj)Ostulated, and the 
committee entreated, but the tougli old soldier stood to his 
purpose with a pertinacity worthy of his race. Burr then 
said, that it was a right inherent in a community to coinmand 
the services of an individual at a great crisis, and declared the 
intention of the party to nominate and elect Governor Clinton, 
without regard to his inclination. The governor at last made 
this slight concession, that he would not [)id)licly repudiate the 
nomination. He afterward agreed that, during the canvass, he 
\vould refrain, in his ordinary conversation, from denouncing 
Jed'erson in the style that had become habitual to him. The 
old man was true to his promise, but neither he nor his rising 
nephew, De Witt Clinton, nor his son, nor any of his connec- 
tions, personally assisted in the campaign, as they had been 
wont to do in previous contests. 

The curtain was now lifted. A public meeting under im- 
posing auspices was held, at which the ticket was announced 
and ratiKed with enthusiasm. It gave life and hoi)e to the 
despairing Republicans. It alarmed the Federalists, who, till 
now, had been confident of a victory. 

In arranging the details of the campaign. Burr's skillful 
hand was employed with good effect. The finance committee 
had prepared a list of the wealthy Tlei)ublicans, with the sum 
which they i)roposed to solicit attached to each name. On 
looking over the list, Colonel Burr observed that a certain 
rich man, equally remarkable for zeal and parsimony, was 
assessed one hundred dollars. 

" Strike out his name," said Burr, " for you will not get the 



THE £LECTIO>' OK 1800. 251 

money; and from the moment the demand is made upon him, 
hLs exertions will cease, and you will not see him at the polbi 
during the election." 

The name was erased. Lower down in the catalogue, ho 
noticed the same sura placed opposite the name of another 
man who was liberal with his money, but incorrigibly lazy. 

"Double it," said he, "and tell him no labor will he ex- 
pected from him, except an occasional attendance in the com- 
mittee-rooms to help fold the tickets. He will pay you the two 
hundred dollars, and tliank you for letting him off so easily." 

This was done. The result, in both cases, proved the truth 
of Burr's prediction. The Izzy man paid the money without 
a demur, and the zealous man worked day and night. 

Last of all. Colonel Burr devoted himself to operating di- 
rectly on the public mind. He provided for a succession of 
ward and general meetings, most of which he himself attended 
and addressed. He kept the canvass all alive by his inde&t- 
igaVjIe activity. He declared everywhere that the party really 
had a majority in the city ; and it was only necessary to awaken 
such an interest in the election as would draw out every Re- 
publican vote, and the victory was theirs. This was no ran- 
dom assertion. By means of lists of the vote;rs, with the polit- 
ical history of each, apj>ended in parallel columns, w;hich were 
incessantly added to and corrected, as new information was 
ol>tained, he had reduced the imjxtrtant department of polit- 
ical prophecy almost to certainty. He would have made it 
quite certain, but for circumstances which, though they often 
decide elections, can not, in the nature of things, be foretold. 
The weather of election day is one of these. In Burr's lists, 
not only a man's opinions were noted, but his degree of zeal, 
his temperament, his hi&alth, his habits, all these things were 
taken into account, to ascertain wliat qiiantity of excitement 
or inducement was necessary to overcome the fatal propensity 
of the comfortable citizen to neglect voting, Tlius, on one 
oc<asion, when Colonel Burr was running for office, and the 
first two days of the election had passed without either can- 
didate; getting a decided advantage, he said, " If it is a fiine 
day to-raorrow I shall get a small majority in the city ; if not, 



oftiJ 1. 1 !• K o !■ \ \ ic ON i; I i; u. 

not." Tito (Imv \v:\« t\U(\ ;»U(1 (ho ovout JMstiruHl his iM^nlMoitt 
|tvr«ru'tio)\. 'VUo lojultM's »>ril)(' i>:iily in (l\o i'i(\, know injv tho 
junniraov and t'\t(MU ol' his int'onuMtiiMj, r<>i<iMv«>il his pro|>lu>- 
oitvs oi' siUH'(>ss ou (ho pr«^s«M>t ooivjsion tui>i«> ns iiit'onnntion 
th;m ;»s iM\>IuMi>M\. 'Phov w oro huoynul with \\o\h\ th;U (ho 
l^nvty, !>t\or (wt^lvo yoars o(' <U>lon(, was now on (ho t>vo oi' a 
n!\(iv>n;il (nuinph.* 

Tho polls opotu^tl on (lu^ niotiiin;;- ot' April 'Jl>(h, ;nul olosod 
«t suns«>( iM> (1(0 vNl i>(" M:>y. nurinj;- thoso thv<>o days, tlu^ 
oxortions o(' hvMh j>ar(ios w on> in(niiM(so. Ilainihon was in 
tho i\M anitna(in!.\' his (olh>wors wi(h his |H>\v*'r('ul iloohuna 
tion. HinT a*hlrossoil lav);'o assonil^lagvs t^l" lu^jmMioans. Soino- 
tin»i>s hoth i>han\pions ap)>oaro(l on tho sanio j>la(rorni, and 
advlrossod tho n(nl(i(u»U^ in turn, U|hm» tht* qnostions in disptito. 
On thoso oooasiiMis, (hoir l>oannsi' toward ono anv^(hor was so 
jiTHOotuUy rvnirtoons, as (o Ih^ rotnon>l>oro»i by niany in tho 
vavwd (hoy a»ldrv*ssod, louij atUn' tho mat tor of (hoir spooolios 
was torjA'v^tton. 

Tho oon(ost o1os«n1. Hotoro tho rival ohiots slopt on (ho 
r\is5:ht v^t" tho vVi ot* May, tho uows was hrouj^ht to thotn (hat 
tho Ixopuhlioans had oarriovl tho city by a majority ot* 4SH"> 

YOt<^S, 

Uan\\lt.ou was not proparod tor dotoat, auvl tho nows stnu>k 
hiu( liko a blow. Nothi«\j;' but sotno dosporato oxpodiont 

* «,\>lv\«oJ K»«>j»i\ !n»(hv\r v\t' rt sthv^'t mon\vMr of l^«rr, \vr»tt\>n iu « tVioudK- 
isi^*^ «sj\vs » tv^w wvM\ls »\\<{>vvtiiv«: t\\o uuiwuor of 1^\«yV iwto»\\»urs^> witU tl\o 
\vuly out ^^f ^Uhm"s. whkMv uu«^\' K^ n\»otv\l luMV, \ vvpy it tho »»oiv \vnih\s>-ty. 
Ih\\>«!!!0 ttxo gtwxt «\>v«s of wtuU 1 quoto tKvm v^tho^-s n\<jHVt«\jy )%v>n- was vv»>- 
wo v\Hu <\««\«(y or wnn^iuvxKV to luuu "OvxU\nol lUun" s}>Y5» Mr. Knapis 
" »\ovvH' wurtwl tho «K>V> by n»i»^~t"V^' '^^'^^^* tl(0«\, «uvl &hjmt\a; tttoir movt^ 
wouls; tvn* U W)\s s^oKUmw (t\oy uvv^t l»a«. llo twavlo \»o v\Muvrts l\v ^Yui-r 
w«««jji> su\vios, mwl thoy tikvxt him thoVotiv^r tW jUl this aWu^^oU^Mx t\\u« tlio 
gt\ ai Kv^' vx»' ^louHX^yaoy 5 but \vt»o«owr ho i\»mo in ovwt«ot wUlt (ho h\w\- 
V - •""> juhmtv>x it \v;>s wvll known thj\t ho trkWtxvl thorn !*v^ W.-. "" " : 
\ .^ wxHv \vn\on)b« iwt wt»o»» lUo wh^^lo vs>'.iYo)'^»tio« wns* 

(Us »^u>nno<'« \voix> tho nuv^t ivvirt\\,' of w»y ouo of las «go. Ho (»ad wot tho 
|\u~;>vlo v\t" Mo' '0 jji'^ui^ ' ' ' \ ^"*' fvM- {> momont tor>ivt 

inraSvU' by a.v- or tw •. - j^vlt'-ix^ssw-ssiiou whioh 

tie ^Uvvi^vs «*v«^t;\$\\iHl gtwo hJtn ^-»\\>t sxdvant^viviii owr ot)>w «\o« wl»o aiv yj^s* 
ss\(5» to ^^oi>' \v>ss>vvnis> !«\^l rtt tim^xs ^\\n «*>( (ndo (hoir w>\»k»uv«jsv\^" 



T/fK KLKCriOS OK 1800. 253 

i:oti]i\ now nnvo. th<; l.;,!on irota fulling into tho hundn of the 
I'liiliHtifi';?. ; and in 1,}' '' - ■ /y of Jiin diwJippoinlmcnt ho r<)- 
y.o\\'i'A upon trying a 'i , '; i;X[>i-A'n;tti. 

The noxt day, wfiih; t)io city wan in thf? firwt flo^h of cxt^Ui- 
uicni at th<; nC'WK, Tf/'irnilton calhsd io'^alhar a few crf the moMt 
ifiHuential Fod<:. nd JaJd f^cfore them liiH Hciuiirm; which 

•»va^, to indnce </'//<;; nor Jay to call an extra tn^Miou oi' iiic 
old leginlatine (whoKe term of ndrvh-Ai ha/J Htill eig))t week>< 
to run), for tlie purj^one of changing the mode of choosing 
).r«'Hid<(ntial okujlorH. Two yftfirn before, Jiurr ha^l at'/Cmj/t,*^! 
to carry a hill through the legislature, providing ,hat the 
eleritorM nhould he t;\,o^A:u directly f;y the peoph;, V/tirjg by 
diHtrifrt,M. Jlin object, '■ ' '• 1 ': tfic-n despaired of getting a ilfj- 
l^ublican majority in ti -iture, was t^> >M;cure//<//r^ of the 

elecf^oral <ydlege of the fcJtate for the democratic candidate at 
the n(;xt presidential election. The Federalist* «aw hi# object, 
iirid defeated it, thouj/h a jrinter meaHure wa« never proponed. 
Hamilton, a Kudden (x^nvert to thix policy, wa« now ]ftit on 
a';cornj^IiHliing, by unwoilhy uh-.huh, what Colonel JJuir had 
honorably endeavored before him. The Fedt^ral caucus jumped 
at the mean expedient, and Hamilton, the next day, wrot« an 
elaborate letter V> the governor, unfolding the plan, and urg- 
ing ilH inntant execution. 

'i'hr; anti-Federal i»aH,y, he wrrif,e, was a c/>mpoMition of very 
incongruouH material"^, but a// o/' ({Aem UwUwj to 'rrdnnlhiAf' ; 
W)uu; to the emanculation of the government, others t^^ revolu- 
tionizing it in the style of Bonaparte, The governmrjnt muHt 
not be confided to the custody of its enemies. True, the mea- 
sure \,\o\iimA was open to objection. iJut a popular govern- 
ment ^^^uld not stand if one party called to its aid all the 
n-HowMin which viwrc^^uld give, and the other, however 
pr(!S«ing the emergency, felt itsf;lf obliged to ca)u\\uh ir-'If 
within the ordinary iormn of delicacy and decorum. T\i(^.(i 
I'-rmH were valuable ; hut they ought not to hinder the taking 
of a step strictly legal and constitutional, to prevent ay« fU/udst 
ill. rdi/jioih and o, J'<in/il,ij^ in polUim from getting possession 
of the helm of State. 

The letter was diMpat(;h<'l. .iu<i:j<i of the conKternation of 



iJ54 1, 1 I' 111 <) I' A A i; ON II II i: \i. 

ils !\m(1i(i|' Mini Ills caiH'iis when (lu-y i(>:i(l, in u \\c\n\\)\'wt\n 
n(>\vs|)M|n'r (;/7//('y<i//(Mr///(/(A^//, :i lull cxpusuro oi'llu' sclinno, 
iiicimliii!;' iiii !U'cM)im( ol' (iu* (•;iiiciis, i(s iirocri'diiio'H, and (ho 
IlU'Usuro it li;nl (•oiiciihicij (o iciMinmciKl. 'riic iniMic iciid 
this inlicK" willi incrchilii \ . K\c\\ (lie T'oiU'riil editors, wlu) 
were iiol ill (ho socrct, (h'liouiirrd i(^ ;is (ho hMS(\s(, of shindors. 
'' \\'hoio is lh(i AiMoricMii," o\ol;tiMiod ()iu> ofdicm, " who will 
no( do(os(. (Iio luidiof of this iiiliiiiioiis Mo V If (lu>ro is ;i man 
(o 1)0 loin 111 who will s;mot ion this puhlioal ion, ho is worse (han 
lh(> worst ot' .laoohins !" No (hmlit, many a l'\>tU'ralis( wi'ii(, 
U) his !;ra\'(> in (ho holit>l" (ha( (ho s(oi'y was a wv.xk invention 
of (ho onomy. Ainoiij;' (lu* papors of (Jovornor Jay, llainil- 
(on's h>(t(>r was foinid, with (his honos(, indorsoiniMit, in Llio 
j>'«)\ (Miior's hand : " / V()/)(».s'///// <( itictf.'Od'i' J'or /xirfi/ pi(r/H)<'i('s, 
w/iirh I think it irotdd not Invonic tuo to adopt.^'' For poi'tij 
))ur|)osos, says (Iu< t-andid n'oviTuor, summarily disjtosini;' of 
Hamilton's solfdoooiviiii;' array of lino motives. 

That Hamilton slionid ha\i> deliberately made sueh a [iro 
posal, shows more than thi> limiledness of his nnderstamlinu^, 
and his i.'iioiaiieo t>t"tlie state of tiling's in whie.h lie li\e<l. It. 
shows (ha(, with all his n'lMidiMnanliness o\' demeanor and tool- 
in!;-, lu> was not a t/u»'i>ii(//i-/>nt/ >;i>n(leman ; a eharai'd'r, tho 
dis(ini;uishin!;' and esst'iidal (|iiality o\:' whieh is, a lovo of kaik 
n.AY. lie had, of his own lVi>e will, u,cmo down in(.o tho 
artMia, and aeei>|>ted InUde on the Uiiown and usual eonditions. 
lie was hoaten fiirly. Tlu'ii he at temiited, hy a soorot JUul 
unwordiy maneMV<>r, (o steal (lu« laurel iVtun tlu> victor's 
brow w hile ho sle|)(. 

r>ii( the \ietor was not aslei'|>. llefori^ thi> (>Ioe(imi, Uiirr 
hail obtained an iiitimalion from some (iu:'ir(iM- tliat ii' the Ivo- 
j>ul)lieans slu>uUl I'arry tlu' ei(y, means wnuld ho (bund to de- 
jirivo (hian o\' (ho fruits ot" their (rime.jih. Upon (his hint ho 
ao(od. h'rom (ho mmneid tho jioUs I'losod ovory movianont 
was watohod. The oinnidnL!; oC (ho votos was olosoly sorutin- 
i/.od. The ooine-saiul i-ominj^s of tlu> loadine- |*\Hloralis(s wore 
obsorviMl, and (1ms the moodnji- i>f (ho oanons was asoortainoil, 
and i(s sehomes exposed anil batlUHl. The pardenlar nioans 
by whieh (he jiroeeedinos of the eaui'us were disi-ovi'roil, 1 



I u K Kt,y. *, i ; o >. OK 1 fe . 255 

have Tjort been able to Af/'Jirtntn. Tix; ^Winpar at thf; t'ntK: • 
that Jlarnilton and iJurr wftro b'Ah enamored of the sar/ie 
woman, who really Joved Brirr, bat endaraA Hamilton only 
that »he might beguile hirn of neertftsi with which t/; ingratiAt*; 
herii4'M' With his rival. I utterly disbelieve this* wret<^;hed j^o-.- 
«ip. Nearly every such tale of noted men prove?,, when exam- 
ined, to be a fahle. Neither liamWVAi nor Burr wa.H blamelean 
toward women ; bnt neither of them, I am sure, ever addicted 
himself to the kind of debauchery which i$» implied in the story 
referred to. 

The new.s of the result of tnc -> ov/ i orK eiectjon tooK tne 
ry^untry by '-' '^' '^■-'•. To Jeffer?«on all eyen were now turned 
a.H the man d soon to wield the p^^wer «o^id patronage 

of the government. Tlie Fe^Jerali»ts ha^l l>een «o long acf.'O*- 
torned to c^^nquer, and the liepublican» to be only a vehe- 
ment, despised, and h'- ion, that the prol^ability 
of the two parties chan;;. ., -w ,, produc '^ •" ''^' ';t which 
may l^ imagined, Mr, .) ;, in one of - V^ Dr. 
Uoah, rbiyi>r<\% the efTe<rt of the startling intelligence ujjpon the 
rnind of I'resident Adarns. 

" On the day," wrote Je-fTerson, " on which we learned in 
J'-'' '^'r.hia the vote of t^ ' '' ' of New York, which it wa« 
V- vn would decide l ; of the State, artd that again 

the vote of the Union, I called on Mr. Adanm on aome official 
bj'ri';ss. ile was very sensibly affected, and ac<^x>«ted me 
with these words : ' Well, I understand that yoa are to V;at 
me in this contest, and I will only say that I will be a« faith- 
ful a subjerrt a.s any you will have.' 

" ' Mr. Adarns,' said I, * this i,s no pers^^nal contest be-tween 
yoQ and me. Two systems of principle), on the salgect *^jf 
government, divide our fellow-citiz^jtis int/^ two parties. With 
one of these you r - - i r - -v, ^j,^ other. As we have 

f>een longer on the ;, . ._ . m'^/st of those now living, 

our names hapj^en to be more generally known. One of these 
parties, therefore, has pat your name at its hea^l, the other 
mine. Were we bf^jth to die to-^lay, f^-morrow two other 
names would be in the place of ours, without any change in 



I ho n\oti.M\ o( (ho n\!\ohi<\on\ lu-< mvu\v>ti is lVon> its |>riiuMi>U\ 
wot tKnn vv^u or \uysoUl' 

"'I hoiioYO v<Mi {>\v n«>ht,'s{»ui ho, Mh;U wo mv hut (vjuv 
s»Yo h\struu\o\\t^ :M\vi shvMiKi uot vSutVoo this n\5\ttor to ntVoot 
in>r )HM>i!vM\al viispvv^itivMis,* " 

nj\o\iUvM\ \h\\ not yot viosj^ir. Ouo oi ins insi iouors, wnt- 
tou {\()ov tho hv>4s of Now Vv>vk. ,n>»»oovIo?* tho |Mvh;>hility ot' rt 
UopuhUv\ui j»»voov\<*s hut '^^ ;hivi>J tiuu his v^ohouto ot' sooMly 
?»\t|>|>orti\ijj n\>ok»\oy tor tho piWuiortoy, iusti^ul of Avi^nts, 
**istho only thiuvj th;>t o;u» s!»\o us tWuv tho tJvug?* of Jot^^i^ 
sou." A tVw kI;i\s 5>t\or, ho wvitos to tho s;uuo tViou^K t)\«vl 

" uuvior Avhuus;»t5 uuvior»1«-'" \ tho ^vi\>\orun\out will siuk.*^ 

A wook vM^ two irttor» to 5\Uv ,. atlou\au, ho \^m^t^\s Fn\uk- 

iiuV ohrtrjvotor ot' Adnuus t^^uiways hv>ui\st, sou\otiu\<\s jjn^u^ 
hut ot\on ui{ui"1» uuvl «vUs thiU Axkntus is honost iuvioo^U hut 
ouly "us l;>v as n uu\u o\v^t^ssivoly vuiu ;wul jOivKni^ JVUvl i^t*K*' 
?7v rtt" ' " \ oiuv KO* Thouoot\uth Uj»u»iltou's ol- 

tv\rts w . ..^ tho siu^ulo ohjoot of v\MKV\Uratiu5j; upon 

ISuokuoy tho outiw snou^jth ot' tho lA^loral i>ivrly\ uvu^h ai\d 
sv>uth. i'Vr this ho >vhou\ovU auvi \v>\>tis 5*<>^i tnlkovl, juui toilovl^ 
5U\xl trrtvohnl ^ivr suuuuor auvl auluiwn of Iv^OO. Hut 

ho h!\xi !\ uimlOo, a v'.o\;o<n>us» r, \ \>ts j\vh'o»^«\v, 

TowjuM tho o)vvso ot' tho s UjuuiUo\\ |uv^>jv»\hI a 

|vuujvhU>t> iu whioh ho stntvsl his <^vvsiM\s txM^ ohjootiiv^tf to tho 
^v^lootiou ot' tho IVvsiJout, vU\sv\*>nti«jX tKH>ly u|>\>u his |>uhr»o 
vvuvluotx «uvi his jHu>v«!vl i»\tiruuti\vs. This |V\n\(>hlot \v«s on- 
titUsl: "A Kottor t\vn\ AKAjuulor Urt>uiUon. oo ->v vho 

lN\hUo OvMuluv>t ;nul l'h{u;»otor ot\K>hu Avhnns, I .^..... lV\s. 
itU^nt ot' tho Tnitovl S(,^\u\s," It w;^; viovsij^iuvU ti<^t> to sorvo 
«s 5^ vn»vul;»r lottor to vorv cvM^ti^lontial tVioiuis in Now K«h 
jihnuU jn\vU s\\s^nvily» tv> ho \lissonuu»tovi ovtonsivoly^ in tho 
Sv^uth, jvwtiouhuK in South t' " 5Xt so hUo jv jvriovl of 
tho ■ -V ^ss th;H tho vlouhUv| ;..^, v^ .-d rv^' ^-^ known «t tho 
Nv tho oUvtion wus ovor» Tho { . i wj^* sont to 

ttxo print or, xmvlov tho uuv^t strinj^vnt stipul;\tions that thvv 
\\>Mk s\\ou\\l ho o\ovuto\l siw vl ovory o^'ipy doiivo^vvl 

into r ■\'^ own hmuls, i;,o ^^ov^ . th.^t t\>K>nol 

Unrr, > — . ,is ovor j^n twrh risor, wns w; tv ,. , ut tho stun^ts 



I H Ir, K /, Jf, '; I I It M O U I '''■ ') , 267 

ri«;ur nurnill.on'H houH*;, vory <;;u ly orn; moniiiij^, wh<;n Ik; fn«;t 
rt f»r,y riarryifi^ tt (;(;v<!r<vl hjwk*;!,, 

" Wliut fiavo you t,}i«;ni, ffiy la^l ?" fwk*!^ IJurr, vvlio wfw 
j»rofM! to >U!<;o»l yoiJiij^ j/copN; fiuif, lio rnot In t,li<! Htrr;<;t,^, 

" I'juri[)hl<;f,H for 0<;ri<!rn.l Ifafnilf.ofi," rt-yVu-A tlio (;oy, fi(;t, 
l<riowi/ig \.\\v.'w \w\t(>Y\;,%u(,i:. 

Ilticr nwk^M /'or ono, mi'l tfxj hoy (;ofn)»!io'I witfiout firiHita- 
lion, Unrr took tlio parnplilH, anrJ, at onf; ^hxucA;^ Haw what 
a prj/,0 chanf'.o lifwl thrown ifi fii^ way. Thiw i» th<! cdrniTit 
f'.l.ori/ ; l>iit it if* ifn[»ro(>fil>l<;, Mr, Oavi", fnrjrcly Hay«, that 
(I'.loncl iJinr, having afu;(;rtainf!'l tfiat wu;\\ a f;arnf»hl(;t Wfw 
ill )>r(;««, nia<l(j "arran^j^cmcntH" for procuring a copy m m<m 
m th«! printinj^ Khoiihl ho (jornphitod. How fto ohtain<;d tho 
j)arrif>hh!t if<, UM-nrforo, nnc<!rtain, Iml tho <;HHontial /act r«- 
rrijiiriH, that li<? ohtalno^l it. 

In tfio <',vonin^ of tho Marnn 'lay, }i<; fuiintrionod to hi-i liouso 
thriic of hirt conforhiratoH, .John Hwartwont, \i(>\>f,ti, Hwart- 
woiit, an^l M. I/, I^avi.'i, to wfiom h<-. r':;i/l th<! p;irnpfilct, and 
nnfohh;*! tfi«! plan ho had ihinn-jl of'liuilifi^ it, a hiK«inj< hornh- 
«h<;ll, into the carriji of tho onorny, 1 1*5 Hifn|)Iy prof>OH<;'J to 
j^ivo tfi<! htadin;^ r;ont«;ntH of tho |>afnphlot Hiid'lon and nnivor- 
H!il [»iihlic,ity. KxtraotH wurc. accord injijiy fumU; on the hjhA, 
and DavJH w;iH charged with tho duty of procuring their 
nifMultarjcoim in«(!rtion in (;n<; of f.h'-. principal Kc[;i4hlican 
ionrnalM <d' Now ICnj^land, and in the Aurora of Phihuh-lpliia. 
The cxtractw appeared. They prorlnce-d all the elfect the hif^ 
tercKt enemy of the I''ederal [^arty (;oidd have de«irerl. Anton- 
i«hfnent and incredulity, l;y turrm, benet the Federal int«;lh!Ct, 
hilt the, puhlie,atIoii of new |»a<4Magex, ihnti time to time, U)' 
ge.ther with the, po|>ular recognition of Ifamiltorj'H Htyh;, Wion 
haninhed all doiiht th;it the gre,at le;uJ<;r had heen phiying a 
douhle game. lie thought it he.^t, at length, to puhliwh the 
|»arnplilet <;ntire, and a i\:w dayw he,lore the presidential elect- 
orK were to be choxen It af/|H!ared. 

Thiw expoMiiH! dcKtroyed th(j hwt hope of the FederallHtH. 
" It retit tli(! party in twain," an a write,r trnly ohHerves, A 
m<;nth af'te.r the, panii>hle,t apfieared, William Diiane, editor of 
tho Aurora^ that t<;iror of the ren[;e<;tahle I''ed(;rallMtH, »cnt 



258 LIFE OF AAEON BtJKK. 

a copy of it to General Collot, of Paris. Chance preserved 
that copy, and, within these few years, brought it back to the 
United States, with the note that originally accompanied it, 
which reads thus : 

" Citizen-Geneeal. — This pamphlet has done more mis- 
chief to the parties concerned, than all the labors of the 
Atirora. William Duane." 

Adams said of it, that " if the single purpose had been to 
defeat the President, no more propitious moment could have 
been chosen." And again : " One thing I know, that Cicero 
was not sacrificed to the vengeance of Antony by the unfeel- 
ing selfishness of the latter triumvirate, more egregiously than 
John Adams was to the unbridled ambition of Alexander 
Hamilton in the American triumvirate !" 

John Adams was, indeed, so thoroughly disgusted with 
Hamilton's treason to the head of his party, that, down to a 
late period of his life, he could seldom write his name without 
adding to it an epithet of repugnance. Burr he always men- 
tions with respect. 

Hamilton's conduct in this business was utterly unjustifiable. 
Not a thousand voters in the country had so much as thought 
of Pinckney for President. In the newspapers, and the public 
meetings, Adams, and only Adams, was named as the Fed- 
eral candidate for the first oflice. Hamilton's intrigue was 
therefore a design to frustrate the people's will by putting into 
the presidential chair a man who had not even been named for 
the office before the people. Two palliating circumstances, 
however, may be mentioned. One is that Hamilton, being a 
Tory by nature, had really no conception of what Democrats 
mean by the rights of the people. Another is, that, at that 
day, presidential electors were not quite the mere formality 
they have since become ; but f^^vo, supposed to nave, in some 
degree, a right of choice. It may also be said of Alexander 
Hamilton, that if he intrigued dishonorably, he did so from an 
honorable motive. Of his rival, we may say, that he intrigued, 
for the most part, honorably and for good purposes, but with- 
out being animated by public spirit. No one, I think, can 
long read the writings of Hamilton without feeling himself to 



THE ELECTION OF 1800. 2b9 

be in contact with a nature essentially good ; but nai-row and 
inflexible for that expanding age ; that era of hope, idea, and 
invention ; that glorious dawn of a better Day than the world 
has ever known. He saw that democracy is a resolving of 
society back again into its original elements ! Democracy is 
chaos he would say. True, Democracy contending with Privi- 
ege is chaos. But after chaos comes creation ! 

A President and Vice-President were now to be chosen by 
the electors. Among the Republicans there was but one name 
mentioned for the first ofBce, and that was Thomas Jefferson. 
But for the second there were competitors. In those da^s, 
what we now accomplish by nominating conventions, was done 
by party caucuses of the members of Congress, A few days 
after the news of the great New York election reached Phila- 
delphia, a Republican caucus was held for the purpose of de- 
ciding upon a candidate for the vice-presidency, A nomina- 
tion was equivalent to an election, and the caucus therefore 
proceeded cautiously. At the first meeting it was only set- 
tled that the candidate should be selected from New York, as 
it was New York that had just made the final victory more 
than probable. A gentleman was appointed to converse with 
the leading politicians of that State and report to the caucus 
their preferences. The choice, it was found, lay between three 
men, Chancellor Livingston, George Clinton, and Aai'on Burr. 
It was at once concluded that Chancellor Livingston's deafness 
was an insuperable objection to an officer who would have to 
jDreside over a deliberative body, and he was set aside. Clin- 
ton and Burr were the two remaining. Of the negotiation 
which resulted in the selection of Burr various accounts have 
been given. The probable version is that George Clinton de- 
sired the nomination, and that his family and friends demanded 
It for him ; but that the Burrites, urging the palpable fact, 
that to Burr, and Burr alone, the democratic victory was 
due, claimed it strenuously for their chief. In '96, they 
might have urged, he had received thirty electoral votes ; and 
as the party used his name when success was scarcely hoped 
for by the most sanguine, it was but fair that it should be 
taken up when success was nearly certain. Burr was nomi- 



'j(J(> 1. 1 r n! »> II' A A It. <> N I! II It i;. 

tiMi(i<l. (Tmloii w.'iH soon iillcr ("Icclrd once more lo llic jjjov 
«>rMoiHlii|) of llid Sl;it(\ 

lliiinilloii \v;iH (lr(»!nlCiilIy «>inl>itlt'f«"<l uuiuiisl, Uiin- by tlui 
tivcniH (if iJiiH Niimiiicr. '^lH^ vAyo uT liis " I'lclioii," SMyM.lolm 
AdimiH, " !1|)|i('!1i<m1 lo iiic llini, mikI Iimh o\w h'uwv )ii»|>Piir(«(l, 
nil nlisoliilt^ (lt>liiiiim." In Aiij'iisl., wt' lliid I hiinilloii wriliii!;' 
to Ills iViciiil l>;i_v:irtl, of 1 )(«l!i\V!ir(>, in tlic lollowiiii;- st,r;uii upon 
tho |>roM|M'(itN of tlio (•!ini|i;ii';n : 

"'I'licro scfinM (o he," n.'i'kI lie, "• loo iiiufli |>rol)!iliilil,y lluit 
.Icirorson or I'Miir will bo I'rosidiMit. Tho lulior is iiilri<;ninLj 
willi nil liis inij;lil. in Now .loi'S((y, IMntdt^ Islimd, Jind Vi*r- 
iMonl ; and llioro is m |>ossil>ilil.y of Homo hiuhhvsh in his iu- 
liif.;iit's. lit* oouiils |)ositivoly on llio iinivorsnl support of Iho 
iuit.i-l<'odoraIisls; and llial by somo advonlilioiis aid liom oilier 
<|narli'rs, lie will ovcilop liis I'rii'iid .lollorson. AtbniMiiit!,' (lio 
lirsl point, llio oonrlusion may \w roali/.od, and, ii'it is so, llurr 
will ccrlainly atloinpl. to rolbrin tin* !;'ovoriim«>nl <f. f<i liuomt- 
jxirtc. Ilo is as uiiprinciphMl and dan_i;'(U-oiis a man as any 
tiouiihy can hijast — as trm* a C'atHino us ovrr mol in mi(hiiglit 
tumolavo." 

Ilainilloirs iiHsortioiiM rospootlii!.'" I1h» ujovomonts and oliur- 
.'U'lor ol" his oppoiuMils, art^ alisoliiloly worlhh^ss as «>vi(K>m'.o. 
Thoy show iiolhiii!;' Imt. tho livi^linoss of his imagination, tlio 
intensity ol" his toolinL!;s, and tlu» siiialliu>ss ol" Iiis inrorniatioii. 
Tho pHssayo (plot I'd is about as orodiblo as a story pnb!ish(»d 
in till* IJoston //nft/WHli'fd ('/ii'Ofitt'/<\ in Iho sumnu'r ol" 1 SOO, 
to tho ("ircct, that. ()onoraI Ilamillon had br(<n hoard to say 
lliat. "if Mr, l'iuokiu>y was not. olooti'd rrositUmt, a rovolutiou 
would bo tho iu)nso(]uon(H>, aiul that, within tho \w\{, lour 
y»>ars, ho should loso his luvid, or bi> I ho loath-r of a triumph- 
ant, army." 1 i\o not sav thai what. Hamilton says of Uurr was 
cortainly mtt. triio, but tliat it is not to b*' bolit'Vi'd booauso 
Ilamillon says it. 

(>lhor loadiii;;' I<\Hh'raIis(s liad no suoh horror of oui' doxtcr 
ous lu'ro. Somo, ilospairiusj,' of lluMr ow n eandidatos, o\ru v\\- 
ti»rlaim*d tho thought ot'o'ivinjj;' him vot»vs onoiij^'h to oloot. liim 
l'ri>si(U>nt. ovor .lolVorson. Sonator (-abot., of iMassachusctts, 
wroto to llamillou upon this jtrojoot, in llu'nn>nlh ol" Aui^ust : 



'IMK 10 I, ICO'i' I «) N O I*' 18 00. 201 

"I'lif! qiU!Ht,ioii li;iH l)(;(!ii !isl<(!<l," H;ii(| (hi\)<)\., " wli(;l,li(;r, iftlMj 
FfKlcrnliHlH c.'.in not (tsii'cy tluiir (irHl, pointH, iluiy wonM fiol, (Jo 
well l,o l,iirn tlio clorttioii Iroiii .iciYcvHoii to IJiirr. Tlioy rioiicriivo 
jJiiir If) Ix! loHH likely to l(jok to h''yiiucA: for Hiif)|)ort, tliiui Jof- 
ferHoii, |»iv)vl<l(;r| Ik; <;oiiI(| |)c, Hii|»)>f>rtod ut \u>in<'. 'V\><y (um- 
Hi'lcr l>iiir iiH jic,tiijit(!fl hy ordinary iuiihition, ,I(!fr<!i'Hori l>y that 
iiiyl tlio pri(|<! oCtlu! j!i.f',ol)iiii(^;il pliiloHf)j»liy, 1'Ih! former may 
Ix! HatiHfied l»y powfir !iinl property, the latter riiiist H(!(! the 
rootH of oiir Hoeiety |»iill(!<l ii|), ;ui(l a ruiW eoinw; r>f cultiva- 
tion HuliHtituted ; certainly it woiiM ha,ve Ixjcmi fortunate for 
the IJnitfid Stat<;H if the H(!C,ond (tatiflidatc! on thr; .laeohin 
hide IkkI lM!(rn otie who mi^^lit Ixj Hafely truHtfxi." 

The v(!n(!ral)le (/ai'roll, of (Jarndlton, would liave prfjHirred 
Uiiri-, !iH li(! Hiippos(!d l>urr would " ac/t with morr; deciHion 
thiin .hifferHon, and p^o britter with IiIh party." With either, 
however, tli*; old /gentleman f liouf.fht the eoinitry on the road 
to ruin ; .Iae()hini(;al eliaoH or J5ona|»artean iiHurpation waH Hunj 
to ov<!rtal<(! tli(! doomed repiddie, hocmmu' or later. Among 
♦,he ultrii, lAideraliHtH thiH oj)inion waH univ(!rH;il. 

Aliofif, 1(if; ini'ldle of I)ec,enih(!r, the hjadfM'H of hoth partieH 
knew how tin; l-.lrtetion had /^one, "^Phe, r(!Hult struck Itotli 
Hides with diHa,p|«»intin(!nt : .I<-fr(;rHon, YM ; Uui-r, 7:{ ; AdaniH, 
(55; I*inckn(!y, 01 ; .lay, I. 

Su<;h was th() donhtful inHuo of ho many years of labor, oi' 
so much l)onora)>I() effort, and ho much not-v(!ry-honoi"ahlo 
niinieuverin'f. The tie, of cours(!, tlir(;vv the (jlecjjon inl,(* tho 
House of lleprcsentafJveH. 'IMie politicians, instead (jf restinj^ 
from tlieir toils, were; suddenly stimulated to such an activit,y 
(W intrigue as niivc.v was known hefbre. 'i'lif; coiuitry "Was 
wild with excitement, Aaron liurr soared ;i.t one*; inf,o a. po- 
sition of national lmpo>tanc(j such aH ho had never before 
iutld. 



ClI A V'VV] \i XVI. 

T II 111 'I' \ K IN T IM (I 11 |i;M. 
'I'liiii W'diimi nr W AMMiMmiN, ilniirmiMiiN, Ahamk ani> II amii/i'on - ■ linrri'imi I'ltiiM lliniit 

Til WiMvlNlUiN ■ -' l.l«'l"n«H KIIOM illin'miMON 'I'd UllHIt — liM'I'THIl li'KOM I III UK 'I'd 11 (IN. H. 
HmI'I'II AI'IMHN'I'INIMIIM IIIM I'lHINV -- l.lll'l"l'IOIH''llllM II A M I l,'l'l>N 'I'll HwiniWI'A IIV Wol.tHI'l"!' 

iHiiNdiiNciNii llntiu 'I'lnii h'lmiii'.iui.iit'i'H iiiiinc on iiii.ioivi'inii IIiuiii I'imwiiuont — liiivrnoit 

li'llUM Orllfl'O II AMII.I'IlN AMUINII A IM' ll'H IMIlMI'lml'I'INd TlllO I'llO.I WdT --■ HwdON 1> IilCn'I'lIt 

niiiM IIamii.i'hn Til Wiii.iui'i'i' aiiainhi' IIiuiii — IiIoithu viiom ilinii'ii'ioimoN to Maiunon 

1III1N11IIN0INII I'lllfl l''Ull|OIIAI, 1n'I'1IIII|IIi:N — lIllNlliM'l' l.lOTTIOIl niDM (llMl V HUNKH H Mlllllim 
lilirl'TIOIt ll'IIIIM II AMIl.TlIN to (^tmillWIOIk, lllllNIMINOINII lllllllt — lilt'l'TMIIN KllllM HAMILTON 
(I MdlllllH ANII MaVAIMI AllAINN'l' llllllll K HIIM.Um (l|i' Mulllllll ANU lUVAItll TO IIAM- 
r'l'ON - lilinri'lU KIIOM (iHNIOIIAl. (lllKKN TO HAMILTON — 1,101'l'Hll Ol'' OoVUltNOH KllT- 
MOIMIM'I'O llAMII.I'ilN HhIIiUWIi'u'h UhI'I.VTO 1 1 A MU.TON — l.ONll lilCTIWII Olf HaMII.I'ON 
TO IIAV Aim II AMII.TON TllMolllllll AIIAIN 'rillH lOl.llllVI'ION IN TlllO llollHIO Sl'lINIO 
inHTWIllUlN illllKI''WIIHON ANU AoAMM rilUOl'' llli' HlHtll'M rol.iriOAI. InTIDUIU'I'V 'I'llIll 

Inaiiihuia'i-kin. 

W'liAi' uciMintMl Miiiouij; llu^ poliliciMiis iVom llu' iiii(l(ll(> 
<>r 1 )(>(H»ml»t>r, wlitMi I lit* \\<\ WHS liisl. known, lo tlio midillo 
of I*\'l)ni!iry, wlicii tlu» lloust* volt'd upon it., mIimII lt(>, ns liir 
IIS |>(issiltl(', shown, nol loM. Tlu" |>iilili('iUions ol' (li«> I;is(, low 
yours oniililo us to roiid tlio history ol' I hut tiino in lh(> vory 
words ol'its U'iidinjj,' )>(>i'son!ii;i>s. 

Ainonj^ tho vohimos whioh "no ujiMithnunrs lihrury is ooin- 
ph'to without," luid whitOi, in most i>"onthMnoH's hhnirios, shmi- 
hvv on tho sholvos witli unoiit. h»!ivos, iwo tho lorly |niiidorous 
oot.ivv(»os, oontuining tht* woiks ol"(Joorn'o Wushius»;t.on,'riioinas 
.lolV(>rson, John Adiiins, mid Ah<xmid»>i- llMinilton. That, (lioso 
vohiiuos should ho so utiorly nos^h'otod as thoy ar(> is not 
oi'i^ditabh* to tho national int<'nij;»«no(>. In th(> l\h'roantiU> 
Library oflho city of Mow York, wliioh counts its 8uhsorihors 
h\ llioiisands, tho otuidition in whioh tlu'so hotdvs woro loiind 
bv nu<, two or throe* yt>ars au;o, was as follows : tho tirst vol- 
uino ol' (>aoh S(>t showod nuirks ol' havinjj^ bo»Mi taken «Mit. and 
lookod tlirouj;li, two or throo tinu\s. Tho sooi>nd vobiino had 
in-idtMitly boon hmullod by somo (nio advonturous porson, and 



T M K 'I' MC I N 'I' It Ml II If, H. 20./ 

about. linlCoCil.H loavoH w<*n* ciil,. ncyond l.lui Hcc-on/l voIiiiik*, 
IK) li'jKicH of (lid IiiukI <i(' iii.'iii woro (I'lHiiovorccI ; ;i boimdh^KH 
coiiliiiiiil.y ol" viij^iii j>nn()H ^iivci tlio rctiiddr ;i pIc-iHiii^ con- 
HcioiiHiicHH iJi.'il, lid waH 1.1i<^ (',\|)I<)r('r of mit.rcwldcii rc/fioiiH. 
Ydt, it is hy (lid |)dniHiil ol" (JidHci woikH, iiiddtl by (,li(! iiu'iiidirrt 
of'tJid tiiiid, (.lint, nioiid u kiiowlcdf^c* (if t-lio (;oiiiit,ry'H liist-ory, 
<liiriii^ llid piM'iod ill wliii^li uloiid it. Iiiul a liiHt/Ory, c.-iii Ix^ oli- 
tiiiiicd. Aldiijj;' wil.li iiiiidli (Jiat. (,Iid iiioihtrii road*^!' may Hkip, 
vvit.li many oHHayH ii|)(»ii 'fovciiiiiKMit, (,liai oiicd Wdfd vit.al and 
jj;l()\vi I !;,!;•, but- (iaii not, now bo lead liy any mort.al, (JidKd worku 
<!oiit,aiii a maHH orroaibng, iiiHt.rudiivd, iii(,drdHt/iiig, and Hiiggdnt- 
ivo. 

Tlid b^ddi'M and <IiarldH arn (lio bent, part, ol' tJidiii. 'I'lidHo 
ar<^ Cull of lilo and iiat.iird. Sniiid of tln^m aro cNxiiidiit, and 
iiii|»n',SHiv(', t,li(! ollH|»i'iiig ol" vigoroiiH iiiindH, wroii;;li(, up (,0 
tlidir liif^lidHt, Htiaiii by having to grappld vvilJi diHlraclingly dif- 
Hdiih, dir(',iimH(,aiiddH. Tlu^ ldl,(,di-rt dorrdd(, 0110 anotiior. Noiio 
of l\u' writ.orH, oxcdpt, VVaHliiiigton (■oiild ma.l<d duo allowanco 
for Olid aiiotJi<u''H diTorH and I'oibldN, ami (lidy olli^ii Hpi^ak of 
polil/idal advdrHai'idS in tdi'iiiH orbitl.i^r (b'pi'dciation. Ilainilt.oii 
JH dspdcially vit.iipdi'al,iv<'. lid liaij tlid limi, ddclaiiiat.ory (,a!- 
oni vvlii(^li \n olldii [lOHHdHHdd by iiidii of arddiit. IddlingH and 
limit.dd iiiiddrHlandingH ; and lio iiHod liiat iaidiil, in ddiioiindng 
his oppoiKMit.s. 

In tliiw cliaptdr, I propowd to oxtract hiicIi paHHagcM of tlio 
h'ttiii's writtdii by Idadiiig politidiaiiH <liiriiig tlid Hixty dayM 
of tlid 'ri(5 oxditdincnt, vvliidi throw light upon thd charadtor 
ami history of Aaron Ibirr, or upon tho domplidatdd uvoiits in 
vvhi(*Ji hd now playctd a. passive but doiispidiioiis part, or upon 
thd slatd of thiii'fs in (Jid (Country at thiH great crisis of tluj 
donteiition between tlut Old and tlui New. IJy thus bringing 
to a fodiis many sdattordd rays, tiid 'ritirni, h<» long obs(!urdd, 
will, I trust, beeoiiie visibh^ to all but, unwilling oyoH. Tho 
extracts shall I)d arrangdd in tim onler of their <lates. It 
may bo as well to mention that., diirin;; the greai.er part of 
tlidso sixty <la.yH, Hamilton was in New Y<trk, .hflfersoii at 
Washington, and Ibirr at Albany. (Jolonel IJitrr, it may bo 
rciMdinborod, was a mcmlidr of tho Stato logislaturo. So far 



264 LIFE OF AARON BUEK. 

from being "shrouded in mystery" at x\ll)any, as two historians 
have it, he was there for the simple purpose of performing his 
duty in the Assembly, of which body he was always a busy 
member. 

Another fact should he borne in mind. Up to this time, and 
for years after, Hamilton and Burr were, to all appearance, 
excellent friends. They consulted together on points of law. 
They met at the houses of common friends. Hamilton dined 
at Burr's table occasionally, and Burr at Hamilton's. The 
lovely Theodosia visited Mrs. Hamilton and her daughters. 
Many gentlemen who knew both Hamilton and Burr, and 
knew them, as they supposed, intimately, had no knowledge 
of Hamilton's embittered feelings against Burr. Burr him- 
self had not. With all his acuteness and dexterity he was 
remarkably confiding ; and though he was aware 'of Hamil- 
ton's intense partisan feelings, he did not, at this time, know 
the manner in which his rival was accustomed to Avrite and 
speak of him. Far indeed was he fi-om supposing Hamilton 
capaT)le of using against him the careless words that fell from 
his lips at his own hospitable table ! But to proceed. 

October lOth, 1800. First I will copy entire a letter* writ- 
ten by Burr to General" Wilkinson, after the democratic vic- 
tory was known, but before the tie had been announced. It 
may serve as a specimen of his cautious manner of writing to 
confidential friends. It was written at Ballston, in the State 
of New York : 

"That through Biddle, and the other of the 29th, came safe 
to me at Albany yesterday, p.m., just as I was mounting my 
horse to ride hither for ray daughter, who has been passing a 
few days with a friend in this neighborhood, while I was at- 
tending on public duties at Albany. Having made electors, 
and a Senator, all democratic, the legislature adjourned, to 
meet on the last Tuesday in January, when I shall be again in 
Albany. To-morrow I move toward New York ; and shall 
remain there for at least two months. From all this you will 

* This letter is from the Appendix to the second vohimc of Wilkinson's 
' Memoirs." 



THE TIE INTEIGCES. 265 

know how to address me ; and as to the mode of conveyance, 
I take the mail to be the most secure. Our post-offices in 
New York and in Albany are perfectly safe. If yours in 
Washington, or where else you may be, should be safe, you may 
write fully. My curiosity as to S., is indeed gratified, even to 
satiety. I wish her well, and something more. I regret the 
book for the injury it will do (has done) to the reputation of 
one honest man, and the feelings of another, John's pride 
will be much wounded. In Jersey, I suspect, Adams will not 
liave a vote. Among the electors I see some of his known 
political enemies, not Democrats, but high-going Feds. Vir- 
ginia is pledged as far forth as faith and honor can bind men. 
You must be deceived as to S. C. When I receive your 
cypher and your address, you shall hear from me. Till then, 

" Adieu. A. Buke." 

"Noah Webster, the printer, has, I am told, published a 
letter against A, H. I have not seen it." 

December loth, 1800. — Jefferson, who had been for four or 
five years, a correspondent of Burr's, writes him to-day a con- 
gratulatory letter upon the happy result of the election. The 
exact result was not yet known ; but there was no doubt 
the Republicans had triumphed. The tie was dimly fore- 
shadowed. After some preliminary observations of no import- 
ance now, Mr. Jefferson proceeds thus : 

" It was badly managed not to have arranged with certainty 
what seems to have been left to hazard. It was the more ma- 
terial, because I understand several high-flying Federalists 
have expressed their hope that the two Republican tickets 
may be equal, and their determination in that case to prevent 
a choice in the House of Representatives (which they are 
strong enough to do), and let the government devolve on a 
President of the Senate. Decency required that I should be 
60 entirely passive during the late contest, that I never once 
asked whether arrangements had been made to prevent so 
many from dropping votes intentionally as might frustrate 
lialf the Republican wish ; nor did I doubt, till lately, that 
such had been made, 

12 



266 LIFE OF AAKON BUKE. 

" Wliile I must congratulate you, my dear sir, on the issue 
of this contest, because it is more honorable, and, doiibtless, 
more grateful to you than any station within the competence 
of tlie chief magistrate ; yet, for myself, and for the substan- 
tial service of the public, I feel most sensibly the loss we sus- 
tain of your aid in our new administration. It leaves a chasm 
in my arrangements which can not be adequately filled up. I 
had endeavored to compose an administration whose talents, 
integrity, names, and dispositions should at once inspire un- 
bounded confidence in the pubUc mind, and insure a perfect 
harmony in the conduct of the public business. I lose you 
from the list, and am not sure of all the others. Should the 
gentlemen who possess the public confidence decline taking a 
part in their affairs, and force us to take persons unknown to 
the people, the evil genius of this country may realize his 
avowal that ' he will beat down the administration.' The re- 
turn of Mr. Yan Benthuysen, one of your electors, furnishes 
me a confidential opportunity of writing this much to you, 
which I should not have ventured through the post-oflice at 
this prying season. We shall, of course, see you before the 
4th of March." 

The " evil genius of this coimtry," according to Mr. Jeffer- 
son, was Alexander Hamilton, and, doubtless, he was the indi- 
vidual referred to in this epistle. At a later and calmer day, 
Jefferson was juster to Hamilton. 

December IQth. — One day after the above was written, and 
three or four days before it could have reached its destina- 
tion. Colonel Burr wrote a letter to Mr. S. Smith, a member 
of the House of Representatives from Maryland, the materia 
part of which was the following : 

" It is highly probable that I shall have an equal number of 
votes with Mr. Jefferson ; but, if such should be the result, 
every man who knows me ought to know that I would utterly 
disclaim all competition. Be assured that the Federal jiarty 
can entertain no wish for such an exchange. As to my fi-iends, 
they would dishonor my views and insult my feelings by a sus- 
picion that I would submit to be instrumental in counteracting 



THE TIE INTEIGUES. 267 

the wishes and the expectations of the United States. And I 
now constitute you my proxy to declare these sentiments if 
the occasion should require." 

As this letter came, afterward, to be thought insincere, it is 
proper to mention that, at the time^ it was highly applauded 
by the Republicans. At public dinners and other meetings, it 
was quoted as a proof of Burr's respect for the will of the peo- 
ple. He also received addresses and letters, applauding it. 

December IGth. — Hamilton, too, writes a letter to-day. 
Wolcott, Secretary of the Treasury under Washington and 
Adams, and a ' high-flying Federalist,' was th? individual ad- 
dressed. This letter contains a passage relative to Burr and 
the tie, that breathes the very sjjirit of meanness. After stat- 
ing, among other things, that Burr was " bankrupt beyond 
redemption, except by the plunder of his country," which was 
at least an exaggeration, he opposes the Federal project of sup- 
porting Burr, and adds the following despicable Avords : 

" Yet it may be toell enough to throio out a lure for him^ in 
order to tempt him. to start for theplate^ and then lay the foun- 
dation of disunion between the two chiefs.''^ 

December \1th. — But, among the Federalists, there had 
sprang up a perfect /wrore for electing Burr over Jefferson — 
so abhorrent to them was the prospect of seeing the arch- 
Democrat in the presidential chair. To-day, Mr. Otis, of Mas- 
sachusetts, writes to Hamilton, the "father-confessor" of the 
Federal party, to ask his opinion how the Federalists could 
best improve the accident of the tie. " It is palpable," wrote 
Mr. Otis, " that to elect Burr would be to cover the opposi- 
tion with chagrin, and to sow among them the seeds of a mor- 
bid division." Shall we, he continues, open negotiations with 
Burr? If yes, how? Will. he stand to his engagements? 
We in Massachusetts do not know the man. You do. Ad- 
vise Ufi. 

Decetnber \1th. — On the same day, Hamilton writes a sec- 
ond letter to Wolcott, rebuking vehemently the proposal to 



268 LIFE OF AAKON BURR. 

elect Burr President by Federal votes. If the Federal party, 
ho says, succeeds m electing- Burr, "it will have done nothing 
more nor less than place in that station a man who will possess 
tlie boldness and daring necessary to give success to the Ja- 
cobin system, instead of one who, for want of that quality, Mill 
be less titted to promote it. 

" Let it not be imagined that Mr. Burr can be won to the 
Federal views. It is a vain hope. Stronger ties and stronger 
inducements than they can olFer, Avill impel him in a different 
direction. His ambition A\ill not be content with those ob- 
jects which virtuous men of either party will allot to it, and 
his situation and his habits will oblige hiui to have recourse to 
corrupt expedients, from which he will be restrained by no 
moral scruple. To accomplish his end, he must lean upon 
unprincipled men, and A\ill continue to adhere to the myrmi- 
dons who have hitherto surrounded him. To those he will, no 
doubt, add able rogues of the Federal party, but he will em- 
ploy the rogues of all parties to overrule the good men of all 
parties, and to prosecute projects which wise men of every de- 
scriptitm will disapprove. 

" These things are to be inferred, with moral certainty, 
from the character of the man. Every step in his career 
proves that he has formed himself upon the model of CatUine., 
and that he is too cold-blooded, and too determined a conspir- 
ator ever to change his plan. 

" What would you think of these toasts and this conversa- 
tion at his table within the last three or four weeks? 1st. The 
French Republic ; 2d. Tlie Commissioners on both sides who 
instigated the Convention (between France and the United 
States) ; 3d. Bonaparte ; 4th. La Fayette. 

" What would you think of his having seconded the posi- 
tions that it was the interest of this country to allow the belli- 
gerent powers to bring in and sell their prizes, and build and 
equip ships in our ports ? Can it be doubted that a man who 
has, all his life, speculated upon the popular prejudices, will 
consult them in the object of a w^ar, when he thinks it is expe- 
dient to make one ? Can a man who, despising democracy, 
has chimed in with all its absurdities, be diverted from th& 



THE TIE IXTEIGUES, 269 

plan of ambition which must have directed his c^jorse ? They 
who eujjpose it must understand little of human nature. * * * 
AJas ' when will men consult their reason rather than their 
passions ? Whatever they may imagine, the desire of morti- 
fyj?j2^ the adverse party must be the chief spring of the dispo- 
sition to prefer !Mr. Burr. * * * Adieu to the Federal 
Troy if they once introduce this Grecian horse into theii' cit- 
adel 1" 

Hamilton's horror of Burr's innocent and characteristic 
toasts (which, in another letter, he says he himself heard Burr 
give at Burrs own table), strikes the modern reader with sur- 
prise. The toasts were simply those of the ultra Democrats. 
They were strictly party toasts, Bonaparte had, indeed, 
usurped the government, but the French Republic still lived 
in name, and the American Republicans could toast the First 
Corj-ul as "the armed soldier of democracy," and the great 
f;r : .jy of tJmr great enemy, England. Burr, as a military 
man, could not but admire the greatest of soldiers. That 
Hamilton should have held up as monstrous such toasts as 
these, shows something of the humor and the caliber of the 
man, and of his party. It shows that, at that day, the ultra 
Federahsts looked upon democratic opinions, as common-place 
clergj'men regard heretical opinions, not merely as an errone- 
ous way of thinking, but as a flagrant moral offense, A 
significance was then attached to toasts of which, in these 
un convivial times, we can form little idea. Toasts were 
among the missive weapons of party warfare. By toasts, 
the sentiments of party were expressed, and the measures of 
party foreshadowed, 

DfA*:rah(irr I2tfi. — Jefferson writes to his friend Madls<jn, an- 
nouncing and deploring the tie ; which, he says, "has produc^'d 
'great dismay and gloom on the Republican gentlemen here 
(Washington), and exultation in the Federalists, who openly 
declare they will prevent an election, and will name a Presi- 
dent of the Senate ^ro Urn. by what, they say, would only l>e 
a stref/:h of' the Constitution," 



2*70 LIFE OF AAEON BUBK. 

December Idth. — To-day was written the only honest, and, 
therefore, the only sensible letter, which was written by a 
Federalist during the Tie controversy. The writer was 
Gom^ENKUR MoRKis, a name ever to be held in respect from 
his having penned this ejMstle, The letter appears to have 
been written at Wasliington or Philadelphia, After mention- 
ing the tie, and saying that there was a likelihood of the 
Federalists taking np Burr, but that some proposed prevent- 
ing an election altogether, and putting the government upon 
a President of the Senate, Mr. Morris proceeded thus: 

" Not meaning to enter into intrigues, I have merely ex- 
pressed the opinion, that, since it was evidently the inten- 
tion OP OUK FELLOW-CITIZENS TO MAKE Mr. JeFPERSON THEIR 

President, it seems proper to fulfil that intention. 

" The answer is simple, and, on mere reasoning, conclusive, 
but it is conclusive only to unimpassioned sentiment. Let 
the representatives do what they may, they will not want 
arguments to justify them, and the situation of our country 
(doomed perhaps to sustain, unsupported, a Avar against 
France or England) seems, indeed, to call for a vigorous, 
practical man. Mr. Burr will, it is said, come hither, and 
some who pretend to know his views think he will bargain 
with the Federalists. Of such a bargain I shall know noth- 
ing, and have declared my determination to supj^ort the con- 
stitutionally appointed administration, so long as its acts shall 
not, in my judgment, be essentially wrong. My personal line 
of conduct gives me no difficulty, but I am not without se- 
rious apprehension for the future state of things. 

" The anti-Federal party is, beyond question, the most nu- 
merous at present, and shoiild they be disappointed in their 
expectations as to the President, they Avill generally, I believe, 
oppose the government with embittered rancor. The best 
Federalists will, I apprehend, support but feebly a man whom 
(unjustly, perhaps) they consider as void of principle ; and a 
government whose force lies in public opinion, will, under such 
circumstances, be critically situated," 

In all Hamilton's correspondence on this subject, not one 
allusion can be found to the onli/ right reason for preferring 



HE TIE IJfTEIGUES. 27t 

JeflEerson, which is so well stated by Gouveneur Morris in the 
above latter. 

Decemf/er 12d. — Hamilton writes to Theodore Sedgwick of 
Connecticut, formerly a friend and correspondent of Burr's. 
To Sedgwick he Bays, that " the appointment of Burr as Pref>- 
ident ^ill disgrace our country abroad. No agreement with 
him could be relied upon." And more to the same effect. 

DcyAmher 2Uh. — Hamilton replies to Morris, briefly repesut- 
ing his denunciations of Burr. 

IJecemtier 2Q(h. — A similar letter from Hamilton to Monis, 
in which he " trusts the Federalists wUl not be so mad as to 
vote for Burr." "I:^" he a/lds, "there be a man in the world 
I ought to hat^i, it is Jefferson. With Burr I lt/j;c<i ohray^ 
h^a jj^rmrtoUy -ir.di. But the public good must be paramount 
to every private consideration." 

JDe/^rnher 21th. — To-day, HamiJton writes a long and very 
eaimaitt letter to 3Ir. Bayard of Delaware, a member of the 
House, who carried the vote of his State in his pocket. He 
denounces his friend Burr, as " a voluptuary by systemi,*' and 
ad<is the following : 

" Xo engagement that can be made with him can be de- 
pended upon ; while making it, he will laugh in his sleeve at 
the credulity of those with whom he makes it ; and the first 
moment it suits his views to break it, he will do so. Let me 
add, that I could scarcely name a discreet man of either party 
m our State who does not think Mr. Burr the most unfit. man 
in the TTnited States ior the office of President. Disgrace 
abroad, ruin at home, are the probable fruits of his elevation. 
To contribute to the disapj^ointment and mortification of Mr. 
Jefferson, would be, on my part, only to retaliate for unequiv- 
ocal proofs of enmity ; but in a case like this, it would be V-^se 
to iL^t^rn to perse- - - — siderations." 

In this letter .._._„. on repeats the toasts, before quoted, 
which he had heard from Burr's lips, when, as he now says, 



27*2 1. I V IB O K A A no N II V \i tc. 

*• I .liiunl Willi him I;ilrly." 1 1(> lulils : "Tlu* |>«'»>uIi:vnt.Y of 
(he oooMsloii will ox<niS(\ mv iiuiilioiiiii!;', in oonrulouin', tho 
ooourroiuHvs ol' n piivjilt* ImMi'." 

,/tin>hin/t>t/i, ISiH. (5ouv<Mu<ur Morris rt^plit's lo Il:uniUon. 
In llu> »v>nrs»< of liis It'tttT, lio s.iys : " Si>nn', iniUuMl most, of 
om »;ist»MU iVioiitls, :iit* w Ml in in support of Hurr, ninl tlioir 
|>rido is so mih'h up ;il>oul llio oli!ir!;'v> «>!' iiilliu>not> that it is 
il.'in^'iMons t.)(piolo nil «>pinion," 1 lo suMs tl\;i( Iho oxcitonnMid 
innono ll>o politioi;ms is toairiil, Mntl Ills own pi>sition of r:vlm 
Np(>ol;vlor (lilliiMill to snppiirt. '' N'oii w lio Mrt> t(Mnpi>ralo in 
«lrinlviu;.v," ho ohsorvos, "1im\i' no\oi\ poih:ips, notiooil tlio 
nwlvward silu.uioii ol' a man who oontinuos sobiM' allor tlio 
i'iMnj>;n>y ;u'o drunk," 

JttnthDy ",th. Wo ari' iu>w j4,'i'ttiii!;' into tlu> inlorior oiri'los. 
To liny Hnynrd, who hold ilu> powor Vo iXK^'uX*.' th(> qm\stion hy 
his vsi\iglo ViMi\ ropl'u^s to ll;iiiiill(>ii at loiijvlh, and with i>'r«»nt. 
nj^pnront onndor. llo nolviiv>w l(>d;\(\s Hamilton's U>ttor, and 
thnnks biin tor it; inontii>ns l»nrr\s lottor to Mr. Smith, ol" 
.Mnrylnuvl, dooHuinj^; to iVnstratt' iho po(>plo's intontion ; and 
Ihon prok'oods thus : 

•• ll ^^Uurr's Uiior \o Sinithl is horo (NVnshini;ton) uiuKm*- 
stood tv> hnvo pioooodod »>ithor iVom ;i Inlso onlonlntit>n as to 
tl\o rosnlt ot' (ho oloolornl vv>tos, ov wns intoiiilod ns n ot>vor to 
l>li»\d his own party. I»y p»M'sv>ns triondly tv> Mr. luirr, it is 
distinctly stntod that ho is \villin^~ to oonsiiior tho l"\'doralists 
j\s his tVionds, nnvl to aooopt tho ollloo of I'rosidont as thoiv 
jjil\. I tako it tor i;rantv^l that Mr. Unrr would not i>nly 
jjlavUy aooopt tho otVu'o, Imt will ni\u;loot no moans in his 
powor to soouro it." llo thon oaloulatos his ohanoos, and 
jvdds: 

"I assuro yvMi. sir. thoro appears to bo a str<>i\}4: inolination 
in n majority ot" tho Foiloral party \o support Mr. Ibur. Tho 
ourronl hasjvhvnvly no»ptirovl oousidorablo tbroo, and manifostly 
u\orv\>siuj;'. Tho voto whioh tho roprosoi\(alion ol' a Siato on- 
nblos tuo Iv^ jiivo would dooivlo tho »puvstiv>n in tavor ol' Mr. 
JotVorvSv^u. .\t prosout I am by no moans vlooivloil as to thv» 



i^inr. I fyi<jj.' '■ '•■-'r.'v to b<; ... . - iri- 

'Jo iotirig ^^y ; I W;(, r fr^/rn iUdm. 

With r<^>*'/^ Uf ihfi pttrnf/utii qunhiy of tbfe c/rtftjtetAU/rn^ I 
-ho .1 fi.'Jir a» much from th*j / ^/f Mr, ./<;ff>;r*//r< (if he 

I-. " want' " '• r. 'ni<rr<5 

. ., , , -. "'■■■'■ • «ottU\ n(A, 

- >; -,v«j tli^; ' Ai/fWhif'h 

H wouW \Ht "A in lh<; bari4» of Mr Jtiffcn^/m. Hti 

ihare w AruAh*^ vihw of tbft nnhjfj^ wM/;h jpv<sn ro/: 
■'; f: -or of Kri rr, I <y>ri.«d*^ th': '.no;- - 

. iff i£/, , 

\ffs^aui\ni'u-A\)Ut'u\,(,: ^nU^ f/f ih'm^f^H ex'txta, W V*nrr '■ 

be tbfe P. . tb*?y will ri^>t 'fiovifm^ and hh ha-/'M^miu'Av (4 

th^-oF ' ■ - ' ■ - • J 

fj", ' ' V,... ',111 

I ' '. ri/yt ^IfTiv, bow<fV<^, tbiSit tb<(frft ar<u i>XVfti% <un\-A 
' -^ >.. ' : y . ;; to Mr, J^'fr«;r*on, 'Hift wib- 

4V , - . . . . ^. . . . . C K. . . 

t>M5 evCTrt, '. ori VnAny^ itn ihh jfftf' 

|>o«5 of formiui/^ a vn a* to llxlr fine of c/rid f 

. IJurr. 



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274 LIFE OF AARON BURE. 

January %th. — General Gunn, a leading Federalist of Geor- 
gia, acknowledges to-day a letter from Hamilton on the en- 
grossing topic, and adds some interesting statements. He 
writes from Washington : 

"On the subject of choosing a President, some revolution- 
ary opinions are gaining ground, and the Jacobins are deter- 
mined to resist the election of Burr at every hazard — most 
of the Jacobin members will be instructed not to vote fOr 
Colonel Burr. I have seen a letter from Mr. Madison to one 
of the Virginia rejjresentatives, in which he says, that, in the 
event of the present House of Representatives not choosing 
Mr. Jefferson President, that the next House of Representa- 
tives will have a right to choose one of the two having the 
highest number of votes, and that the nature of the case, 
aided with the support of the great body of the people, will 
justify Jefferson and Burr jointly to call together the mem- 
bers of the next House of Representatives, previous to the 
3d of December next, for the express purj)ose of choosing a 
President, and that he is confident they will make a proper 
choice." In other parts of his letter, he speaks of America be- 
ing degraded by the attempt to elect Burr President. " What 
say you, my friend ? the little Virginian must have been a lit- 
tle ferocious at the time he wrote to his friend. I am confi- 
dent the present House will not elect Colonel Burr, and am 
persuaded the Democrats have taken their ground with a 
fixed resolution to destroy the government rather than yield 
their point. I fear some of our friends have committed them- 
selves by writing improperly to Burr. We know the man, 
and those who put themselves in his power will repent their 
folly." 

January 10th. — Governor John Rutledge of South Carolina, 
replies to a letter from Hamilton, in a way to enhance poster- 
ity's contempt for the Federal party of 1800. 

"My determination," he says, " to support Mr. Burr has 
been shaken by your communication, and I shall make, among 
those who with you are anxious to j^reserve public order at 
this crisis, all the use of it that its seasonableness and value 



THE TIB INTRIGUES. 275 

will enable me to do. Viewing Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Burr 
se2?arately, each appears improper for the presidency ; but 
looking on them together, and comparatively, the FederaUsts 
think their preferring Burr will be the least mischief they can 
do. His promotion will be prodigiously afliicting to the Vir- 
ginia faction, and must disjoint the party. If Mr. B.'s presi- 
dency be productive of evils, it will be very easy for us to ex- 
cite jealousy respecting his motives, and to get rid of him. 
Disposed by the Virginia j)arty, it will be Ms interest to con- 
ciliate the Federalists ; and we are assured by a gentleman 
who lately had some conversation with Mr. B. on this subject, 
that he is disposed to maintain and expand our systems. 
Should he attempt a usurpation, he will endeavor to accom- 
plish his ends in a bold manner, and by the union of daring 
spirits — his project in such a shape can not be very formidable, 
and those employed in the execution of it can very easily be 
made way with. Should Mr. Jefferson be disposed to make 
(as he would term it) an improvement (and as we should 
deem it, a subversion) of our Constitution, the attempt would 
be fatal to us, for he would begin by democratizing the people, 
and end by throwing every thing into their hands." 

Jamiary 10th. — Theodore Sedgwick replies to Hamilton's 
letter of December 22. The wrong-headedness of the Federal 
leaders is conspicuously shown in this epistle. Mr. Sedgwick 
begins by saying that all the Democrats are for Jefferson, and 
most of the Federalists for Burr. He then admits, that the 
people's intention was, that Jefferson should be President. 
But why did the people prefer Jefferson ? 

" Because," says Mr. Sedgwick, " he was known to be hos- 
tile to all those great systems of administration, the combined 
effect of which is our national prosperity, and all we possess 
of national character and respectability ; because he is a sin- 
cere and enthusiastic Democrat in principle, plausible in man- 
ner, crafty in conduct, persevering in the pursuit of his object, 
regardless of the means by which it is attained, and equally 
regardless of an adherence to truth, as demonstrated by his 



270 1. 1 K K o !•• A A i; o N 1! r i; ic. 

lottor ((> iM;i/,/,ri.''' his iKH'l.irnlion in iho SiMiato, on liis tlrst 
t;ikini»- his sivvt. th>Mi\ »Mi\, rU-. ; boi':uiso \\o is known to l)i> Wo- 
volotl t»> tho viiMvs (>t' (liost> lurn in his Stato, \vhi>s(> uni'i>;»sinn^ 
t^tVort it h:»s hoon. wwA is, lo ri'«ltu'o in pnu^hW tho mhninis- 
tr:iii.M> ol' llioir <>'ovonnnont. to tho prifH'iph\^ of tho oKl I'on- 
totlorntion, in whii'h that Stnto, by hiM- nnniorons ii>jnosont:i- 
tlvos, Miul [\w n\lhuMioo whioh sho has on surromulini;- StatOvS, 
will ho tho iliiialor; Inn-auso lu> is known to ho sorviloly do- 
volisi to *>nr ("oroi'Vii nation, unilor any lorni ol" ;;o\ ornniont, and 
pursnin;;" any systoni ol' nioasiiros, howovor hostilo to tliis 
ooinitry. and nnrolontin;;ly hostilo to anothor nation ; and 
thoso tho two nations with whioh wo liavo tho most intorost- 
it\!^" rolations, and with whioh it is n\i>st inijiortant to prosorvo 
an equal and in\|>arlial vo;;ard. (hi;;ht ^\ o, thon, to rospoot 
tho protoronoo whioh is >;iviM> to this man tVom snoli //»<)('/< v*-', 
and hy suoh/Wf/^/.N" / 

" .\sto tho otluM'oandidato, thori' is no disa>;rooniont as to his 
oharaotor. Ho is .amhitious, soltish, protlis;ato. His ambition is 

* Miu^j^H \V!is rt UwviuhI U^Uiau, who hsvd vwsidod in Vuyinijv, nwu' Moiiti- 
iv\K\ vvhoiv ho biVi»»\o iutiiuato with .rolVoi"sou. Tpon tiis ivttiru to Kmvpo 
ho wivto to JotVoi-s^m, .IolVoi'sou\s ivply, l>y sv>!uo \>\o;\ns, ,u^>i intotlio uows- 
j\->lv»-55. !«»il uiiuto i> jMwhjiious <<liM\»ov. or this lottx>r, dtUod April 21, 1795, 
tho toUo\vin«: is tho {vvrt ivlatinjy topvthlio ovoivts; 
' "Tho rtspovi of ovir jH>litios litis \\%n\dorl\»lly ohan^ijvil siiuv you loll us. hi 
plrtvv ot" that uoWo lovo ot' liborty and ivpublioan gv^vonmtont, which otu"- 
riod us trivnuplumtly thwujjh tho war, an AujiiioAt\ twoniwvhioal aristwwtkvU 
party has sprviug ui\ whvvso avowvd ohjov>t is tv> drsuv ovov us tho sulvstautv, 
as thoy havo ah\\\dy do»»o tho tonus, i\f tho .British jjvn-iMnuuout^ Tho main 
iHxk of ovu" oitisoiis, howovor. tvtuaiu truo tv> thoir ivpuhlioau priucuplos; tho 
wholo bwdo\\ iutotwst is ivpuhlioan, and s\> is a ijrx\>t mass of talonta Ag-siiust 
us arv^ tho F.xivutivo, tho Judiciary, two mit of thnv branolk^ of tho Lojjisla- 
tiuw all tho ot^Uvrs of tho j>ovovun\ont ; all who wsvut to bo otttoors, All 
tiiuid tuou. who pivi'or thooah»» of dtvsjH^tistu to tho boistoivus soa of liborty. 
British tnotvhatus, aud Amorioaus tr;\diu>i- on Uritish oapital, sjHVulatoi-s and 
holdoi^j iu tho iMwiks aud public ftmds, a v\M»trv\-ai\ov^ inwntvxl tor tho purixvo 
of i\\rruv>tion, and for assiuulatiuj; us it\ all thin.ii-s to tho i\>ttot» as woU as 
tho svHiud j\'>rt of tho l^ritish nivxlol. ,U would givx^ yvu a tbvor woiv I to 
uamo tv> you tho ajKvstatv^ who haw gvnio o\-or to thoso hon^os, toou who 
\vo»v !iN;>u\svM»s in tho ttold and iv^Unuv>us in tho oovmoil, but who havo had 
Ihoir hoaiis shorix bv tho harlot Ku>;lat»d," 



T u K r I K f s r IS I o r; K H . 277 

ofthf; worHf. kirxl ; it tn u moro lovf; of power, rr;jran11r;«w of fkrno, 
hut an ilH iriHirurrif!rii, ; h\n HdflHhmiHH rrxcludcH all «ocial fifr<;f> 
tiori,*ar)'l hin \>roiVi'/->.';y anrcMtrainod by any moral tKjntimc'ritH, 
and dofying all drjconcy. Tlii^ ix agreed, but thfjn it i» known 
thathix rnannernarc plausible — that be isi dexterouH in the ac- 
rjiiinition and UHe of llx; meariH n<;coMHary to eflbet biH wiHbrjg. 
Nof.liinf; can be a Htronj^er evidenc<i of tbiHtban the situation in 
wliicb be Htandn at tlji.-, moment — without any pretenHJon from 
oonnef^ionH, fame, or nervicef* — elevated by bi.M own indepen 
dent mearw to tlie blgb<;»t point to wliieb all thoHe can carry the 
moHt meritoriouH nuu) in the nation. He holdw to no previous 
tbeorie", but Ih a mf;f f; rnatter-of-faet man. IJii* very Helfi«bneH« 
prevents his entert,j)iiiifig any miHcbievouH predileclionH for for- 
eign nations. 'J'he situation in wbieh be lives baH enabled him to 
disf^errj, and justly appreciate tbe benefits resulting from oar 
commercial and other national systems, and tbi.i same selfish- 
ness will afford s/';m<; security tbat be will not only patroni/ij 
their support, but tJioir invigoration. 

" 1'here are other c/nsiderations. It is very evident tbat tbe 
Jiu^AAuH dislike Mr. i^urr a» President — tbat they drea^J bix 
appointment more than even that of General I'inckney. 

" <'>n his part,, h'- ' '' them for the pr<^ference given to biw 
rival. He has exp ^ liis displeasure at the publication of 
bis letter by General Smith. This jealousy, and distrust, and 
dislike, will every day more and more increase, and more and 
more widen tbe breacli between them. If then Jjurr should 

be elected by the Fc!' •' '■ ' '■■ t, the bearty or- - ''''/n of 

the .Jacobins, the a', . given and ;< i will 

probably be incurable-. Ea<;h will have (^jmmhted the nn- 
j^ardonable sin. Jiurr must depend on good men for his sup 
f^ort, and that suppoi3rhe can not receive but by a conformity 
to their views. 

"In these circumstanc^es, then, to wbat evils shall we expose 
ourselves by the choice of Burr, which we should escape by 
the dection of .Jeffer-.on ? It is said tbat it would be more 

* llifc n^a/kT wiJl observe, that many of the karjing .=», in 'Wimittc- 



278 i.ii.^K, ov \AUON inf K u. 

illsoTiicoful to our country, niul to the ])rinoipUvs of onv gov- 
onniuMit. For mysoif, I dri-lnro 1 (liiuk it impossiblo to ]>ro- 
stM'vt^ (lu* lioiior of our couiurv ()i- tlio |>rini'ij)les of our C\)ii- 
stitutiiMi, by a mode of I'K'c-tion wliicU was iiitondod to sotruro 
to proniiuout (aliMits aud viituos tlu' lirst honors of our coun- 
try, and Ibi- cviT to diso-r-nH' tlu' barbarous institutions by 
wliich tvxcculivo power is to bo (nffisi/u'tfiil (hrough t/w or(/a/ifi 
o/(ff)n)'atio>i. Wo luivi' at one election placed at the head 
of our i>'overunuMit a seuii-uianiac (Adams), anil who, in his 
soberest senses, is the i;reatest marplot in nature ; and, at the 
next a feeble and (iilse enthusiastic theorist (Jotferson) and 
a proilioatc (l>urr) without character and without property, 
bankru[it in both. I>ut if there remains any thinn' for us, in 
this ri>spect, to re^anl, it is with the minority in the presiden- 
tial elect io>» ; and can they bo more disgraced than by assent- 
ing to the I'lection of .lellerson — the man who lias proclaimed 
them to the Avorld as tlebased in princ.ii>le, and as detestable 
nud traitort>us in eimduct? Hin-r is indeed unworthy, but the 
evidence o^ his uuwortliini>ss is neither so extensively known 
nor so conclusive as that i>f the otlier n>an. 

" It must be confessed that there is part of the character of 
l>urr un>ri> dangerous than that of .letVerson, (jiivo to the 
former a prv>bal)le chance, and he would become a nsurjK^'. 
The lattiM- might tiot incline, he certainly would not dare, to 
make the attempt. 1 do not believe that either would suo- 
ooed, and I amcontident that such a project would be rivjeotod 
bv l>urr as visionary. 

"At lirsl, I confess, I was strongly disposed to give JetVer- 
son the [>reference; but the more I have retlccted, the morel 
have inclined to the other; yet, however, 1 remain unpledged, 
even to my friends, though 1 believe 1 shall not sepanvto from 

tlUMU." 

Januanj lOth. — A long letter from Hamilton to Ciouveneur 
Morris about the ratitieation of the convention with France, 
eoucludes : 

"8o om- eastern frieiuls want to join the armed nontrality 
nnd n\alve war ujhm» Uritain. I infer this from their mad pro- 



'Ill 10 IMC I N Tltl <ii; ICH. 279 

pcnsily io in;ik<! JJtirr I'rcHidorit, If JofrcrKoii Ikih prcJii<lic,('H 
I(;;i<lin{^ to tliat, result, lio hits (IclbctH of cliMni(;t(!r to koej* liiiri 
lack, IJiirr, with the Hiirne properiHiticH, will (iiid th(! thiii<^ 
jiccGHHary to his projects, and will dare to hazard all <;oiiHe/- 
quericeB, They may as woll think to bend a giant by a cob- 
web, HH hi»umbiti(;ii by proraiHcs." 

January \hth,. — liiirr'H own letters during thin period are 
r|iiit(! ill his UHual tnanner, light, jocular, and f)ri(',f. An allu- 
sion to tlie tie occurs in a note ty his son-in-law, Mr. Jose[j[i 
Alst(ui, of S(Mith (/arolina. "The ('()u;i.lity of Jeflerson and 
JbiiT (!Xcit('H gr(;al/ speculation ami much anxiety. I bc^lic^vo 
that all will he well, and that .JedcrHon will b(!Our I'reHidciit," 
The subject is not mentioned in any other of his published 
hitters. 

t/anua.ry \(>/Jt. — 'I'Ik; importance of Mr. liayard, as a mcm- 
IxM' of th<; House holding tlu; entire vote of a State, iiiduc<!<l 
Hamilton to try all Jiis power to Ijring him over to his 0[)iiiion. 
To Jiayard, accordingly, he now writOH the most carefully 
elalioi'ated lettcir that the crisis (ilicited. It is the most com- 
])lete expression of Hamilton's feelings as a ])atrir;t and as a 
)>arti/an, that has come <lown to us. 

" 1 was glad to find, my dear sir, l>y your letter," he began, 
" that you had not yet determined to go, with the consent of 
the Federal party, in support of Mr. liurr; and that you were 
resfjlved to hold yourself disengaged till the nH)tneiit of final 
decision. Your resolution to separate yourself' in this instance, 
from th(} Federal party, if your conviction shall be strong of 
th(! unfitness of Mr. liurr, is certainly laudable. So much 
does it coin(;id(! with my id(;as, that if the [<arty shall, by sup- 
porting Mv. Ibirr as J 'resident, adojjt him lor their oflicial 
chi(!lj I shall be obliged to consider myself as an inolaied man. 
It will }>e impossible for ma to I'econcile with my motives of 
honor or jjolicy, the continuing to be of a ]>arty which, ac- 
cording to my ap|)rehension, will have degraded itself and the 
country. 

" I am sure, iKtvertlielesH, th;i,t the motiv((S of many will be 



\)S0 » \ ^^ K \^ K V \ U ♦> \ U »'' W K, 

I shrtU \loj\U\\v rt sio|\ \\l\iol\ I 0\»r o\pononoo will ?il\»>\v to 
W » YKM\Y t5H>>») v>»^^, Au\vM»>? tho Utto)^ whioh I wooivxs 
rt?4s4^^^^\u\\,^^\\\<^ <V}\mm^!<, ^{^^!U*^i A^'»,» tv>«> }>\vlorru\)4; r>\\vr tv> Jot* 
txWow, \ v>\v<ovv<^ w^^ j^ux^Ul o\;\!<>;tM;ulvM\ tx> tho jMvJihiioo ot't)\<\ 
\;>ttov, «\\vl jivMWO tl\u\v\>» tnKou (or jiV}U>to\i «s to tho lornxov 
wUwh juv 5U )*\->s< vjf^vssuMuxMo. IVvhiXjv* mysoir tho t\rst, nt. 
{ixMWo oxjvus*- vM' }vpuhMU\\ tv^ \u\tMvl tho tvuo oU;un\otov of 
»\ot\V\sxM\. it is too li^to tor \»\o tx> Ihvojuo h\s «{\oU\iins^ Nv^v 

''I ;»xiuu( \\\M h\s{v>Utiv's jv>vtu\ot\uvvi wUh t^mrttioistui tlmt 
\\^ \s tvs> >n\«oh in ^vun^v^it in his xion\oor»o>. i th«t ho l\jvs l>oou 

rt \\\iso\uO\v>US 0\\0\Xl^\ to tUo ^UUUMlWl U\<\»^SUtVS Ot* 0\>V |>i\!<t 

juhuiuistw^tivMK th}\t ho U omt)y «u\i po^^ovovJujj in his o\k 
i<vt!*; th.u ho is wot svnM^^^^O^^us 5^\h>\U tho \no;\ns of suxvos»s 

■ ■ von \\u\uU\vl ot' trut)\» uwxl thiU ho is j» oo\\ton\ptilUo hyjw 

,0, l>ut it is wvM tnu\ as is !UU\^v\ix that ho is m< ouon\y 
. >o \>o\vxn ot' tho *^xoo«tiYrs v^<' '<>«' '^^^ i?* tv><' ^H>nfom\xU»\« 
jvlJ tho |v^\^o^^ i\\ tho Uouso of \^o)>»^\sout,atiY\\s» It is a t^»o^ 
Nvhvh I haYo tVxs^uontJY nxontiowovU thatxWhiU^ \yo nyoiv in tht> 
a\Jnunistv;»iixM\ (N\>ivt)HM\ ho was jivnoraUY tor a hn^vvvnstnuv 
tiv'in ot' tho oYivutivo a\»thvnitv. n^vi not ku^kwarxi toaot n^HMi 
it in v\xsA>i \\h\oh vVMnoixloU v^ - viows. I v ; it W a^lvloxl 

that^ in his th^sMvtio i\ioas» ho h^vs ^v^nsivUnvxi as inxj>>\>por tho 
|v\vv;oimt ions x>t'' tho Sonato in tho oYOontiYo anthoritY\ \ haYo 
',,>'. 0-:' .MuaxJo tV.. ' tion that^ Yiowinj* himsoll' as 

!,;,o Vv\ ... l>o was ^ s to wmo into tho |>vvsst\ssivxn 

of a jiw^i i\^tat<\ Xxnv is it tvn^s that JotU"'<>sMn is »R\alons 

onx^v5>^h to vUv any thin^^^ in j>n»^nanvH^ of his jninoij^lt^s^ whioiv 

\\ \V, v^^r,',v;uono his ix^^MO.arity or his \nto\\\st^ Uo is a^s hko\y 

\ I k>^N\v tx^ to n\aKn\lato what YYiU W 

-N^tohisow; .v; n awvl jUv -• ■ \ anxi tho 

of s\ioh a ton>jHM> is tho |n\\s^M^\ j^Ystonus 

.^^^}Kv^^U w hiv'h Ivinjj i>^n>o tvstaMislu^U i'SYXiKl 

jusi withont xbin^ivr to tho \>tn^M\ who \M \t» 

■ ■• ■ ^ V ■ . nl 
- ' . >»» 



TMfc 'ttK, tuyfitfiiticn. 



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tKfe M arf.f'd f!fi'\ ff/^^^rr/>M i/> 



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■-■>.; .'-'.V, .'.'/- 



282 LIFE OP AARON BURR. 

system, as unshackling the mind, and leaving it to its natural 
energies ; and I have been present when he has contended 
against banking systems with earnestness, and with the same 
arguments that Jefterson would use. (Xote by Hamilton. 
" Yet lie has lately, by a trick, established a bank, a perfect 
monster in its principles, but a very convenient instrument of 
profit and influence.'''') 

" The trutli is, that Burr is a man of a very subtle imagin- 
ation, and a mind of this make is rarely free from ingenious 
whimsies. Yet I admit that he has no fixed theory, and that 
his peculiar notions will easily give way to his interest. But 
is it a recommendation to have no theory ? Can that man be 
a systematic or able statesman who has none ? I believe not. 
No general principles will hardly work much better than 
erroneous ones. 

" As to the third point, it is certain that Burr, generally 
speaking, has been as warm a partizan of France as Jefferson; 
that he has, in some instances, shown himself to be so with 
passion. But if it was from calculation, who will say that his 
calculations will not continiie him so ? His seltishness, so far 
from being an obstacle, may be a prompter. If corrupt, as 
well as seltish, he may bo a partisan for the sake of aid to his 
views. No man has trafficked more than he in the floating 
passions of the multitude. Hatred to Great Britain and at- 
tachment to France in the public mind will naturally lead a 
man of his seltishness, attached to place and power, to favor 
France and oppose Great Britain. The Gallicism of many of 
our patriots is to be thus resolved, and, in my opinion, it is 
morally certain that Burr will continue to be influenced by 
this calculation. 

" As to the fourth point, the instance I have cited with 
respect to banks, proves that the argument is not to be relied 
upon. If there was much in it, why does Chancellor Living- 
ston maintain that we ought not to cultivate navigation, but 
ought to let foreigners be our carriers? France is of this 
opinion too ; and Burr, for some reason or other, will be very 
apt to be ot' the ophiion of France. 

" As to the fifth point, nothing can be more fallacious. It 



THE TIE INTEIGUEB. 283 

is demonstrated l»y recent fects that Burr is solicitous to keep 
upon antirFederoI ground to avoid compromitting himself by 
any engagement with the Federalists, With or without such 
engagement, he will easily persuade his former friends that he 
does not stand on that ground; and after their first resent- 
ment, they will be glad to rally under him. In the mean time, 
he will take care not to disoblige them ; and he will always 
court those among them who are best fitted for tools. He 
will never choose to lean on good men, because he knows that 
they will never support his bad projects ; but, instead of this, 
he will endeavor to disorganize both parties, and to form out 
of them a third, composed of men fitted by their characters to 
be conspirators and instruments of such projects. 

" That thii5 will be his future conduct, may be inferred from 
his past plan, and from the admitted quality of irregular am- 
bition. Let it be remembered that Mr. Burr has never ap- 
peared solicitous for fame, and that great ambition, unchecked 
by principle, or the love of glory, is an unruly tyrant, which 
never can keep long in a course which good men will approve. 
As to the last point, the proposition is against the experience of 
all times. Ambition, without principle, was never long under 
the guidance of good sense. Besides that, really, the force of 
Mr. Burr's understanding is much overrated. He is far more 
cunning than wise, fer more dexterous than able. 

[" Very, very confidential. — In my opinion he is inferior in 
real ability to Jefferson. There are also facts against the sup- 
position. It Is past all doubt that he has blamed me for not 
having improved the situation I once was in to change the 
government. That when answered that this could not have 
been done without guilt, he replied, Les grands arnes se soUr- 
cient peu djis petits nk/roMx /* that when told the thing was 
never practicable, from the genius and situation of the coun- 
try, he answered, ' That dej^ends upon the estimate we form 
of the human passions, and of the means of influencing them.' 
Does this prove that Mr. Burr would consider a scheme of 
usurpation as visionary?] 

" The truth is, with great apparent coldness he is the most 
* Great soulfi care little for the minor morals. 



•:!vS4 \.\ V K O K A A IC O N r. I i; K . . 

s;\t\siuino \\v.\\\ in \\w world, llo thinks «n orv llunjx pi^ssiblo 
to ;»*hon(\ivo and povso\ tM:invH< ; :unl lhon_!;h 1 boliovo ho will 
thil. I think it iihnost oort;un ho will :Utoinpt \i8urp.Mtion, :\\u\ 
tho !\tton>{>t will involvo jviont n\isohiol". 

" Unt thoro is ono jHMnt i>l" \ iow whioh sooins to n\o doois- 
ivo. ll'tho Mnii l-'odot-nlists. who pri^vnihnl in tho olootion, nvo 
lot\ io t;iko tlu>ir own in;\n, tlu^v roinain rosponsiblo, :unl (ho 
I'Vilornlists ronmin />vv. ♦//</,'('(/, j>nd withont afain^ in .•> situ.v 
tion tv> vosist with olVoot pofttii'iotis tt\oasuros. It' tho Kodoral- 
ists snhstitnto Imut, thoy ndv^pt hin\. and booonio iinswonvblo 
tor hint. ^Vh;^^ovor in;»y bo (ho (hoory ot'thoo.'Vso, ;>l>ro:ui juid 
!»t /iOHi(- (^Ibv so tVott\ tho boginninjv i( will bo (;ino;h(\ Mr. Hnrr 
ntnst booottto, *>* r^^'^ tho nt:\n ot'onr piwty ; nyd it' ho :»o(s ill, 
wo mnst shnro in (ho \>h\n\(^ ;ind disuriioo. l>y ;\dt>|>(inL!: lum, 
\Vi< »K> nil wo o;u> (o roovMtoih^ tho minds ot' Fodov;ilists (o hin», 
suivl wo pro{>;\vo thon\ t'or (ho otVoo(n;d opof.'Uion o[' his :u'(s. 
Ho will, donbdoss, o;\iu nt:>ny ot' (luMu; nml (ho Vodor;\lis(s 
will bov'onxo u disv>r«:^\'\ni/.od :nid ootKonquiblo p;\r(y. Can 
thoro bo any sorious v\nos(iot( botwoon tho j>olioy ot'loa vino- tho 
nnti-Kodoralists (v> bo answorablo ('or (ho olovatioti ot'an objoo- 
tionablo tnatt, aiid (hat ot' adoj^tinn' oursolvos, ai\d boooming 
answorablo ("or a (nati wlu\ ou ;dl hanvls, is aoknowlodu'od to 
bo a ovMuploto Oatilino? 'Tts onons;h to stato tho i^nostion (o 
iitdioato tho auswor» it' roasoii, i\o( passloit, prosidos in tho d^v 
cisiotK 

" VvMi tnay oon\jnnnionto this anvl my t'ormor lottor to dis- 
ovoo( and oontidotuial t'riouds." 

Vpon (his lottor a rotnark or two tnay bo pormittod. A 
man who, a(\or knowinsi' .lotVoi^on as in(imatolv as Hamilton 
had, oonld doliboratoly pivnovu\oo hitn "a ooiuotnptiblo hypvv 
orito," was no indgv ot*mo»» ; anvl uv^thi«\g, thorot'oro, whioh ho 
s.ays ot'an oppouont has any vabio. ,lotVorso>» still livos it> tho 
history ot' his administration — liws in tho stnnip ho lotl njuMi 
his ovniutrv's intolloot — livos in (ho nino vobunos ot'his lo(tors, 
Kond all tlvoso, and loarn whothor Thoinas Jotlbrson was or 
was not 5> contomptiblo hypoovito, or iii any sonso ootitompt- 
iblo. Tho honx^r wliioh Hatniltoii oxprossos of lu>dwin, that 
gvntlo-hoavtod oulhusi;vst, that passio>\a(o lovor of jns(ioo ;vnd 



I H y. I I K i MtB^liiVZH. 



2Hrt 



c\ 



A. 



U/'-'t^.., augrM, <■/, 



:u)'i wrouj^. 



of man, that friend '/*' - - v* '',v<;ablc' ^r- -•'--' 

CiiHiUjH Larnb, w »/- , >, if i^ 

Pffcat NOu)i» do not much rti^ard tha minor uvj .^ ha ut- 

iAtraA sm (Ufnully a fal.v^hood a» (?ver foil frorn lij^. Grcsat 

»<;uJ«, iudt'j'A^ know no 'ffdo//r tnoraln; Uj lAmtn all moral* ar<j 

jg. Th'^y know no '^ ' *. 

if;;..... ''. J(U» UdU;r1/f(ff/V<::... - ., ^ . - ^^ 

the (hsi'cui of the H ;«« by a goviirfuncuUtl trick, uiMrn 

muinfiautu not tuilike tliat which Im? h<;jfc attributes to iiurr, 
iiut no jnan wiio know* fiMjn - "; of what a man will do 

by v/bat, in ^ .* 

VS'ith r<'' '' of lJurr'« t4#«rf/jng 

the gove- .oni* of the /^«>r- 

iph/jhi/i under which h« hixjred, Sclieming for a rc/J/'Atwfi, 
i» enough t/.» keep jai ar . man iumtM^ni in the f/r^^ideO' 

tial ebair. Two thin^;., . 
fo-ar of u>,ur|/ation. <'->;/': 
the (Ahtitf the very '■/, , 

cla»M* in th* Unite^l 8tate«, tliat the C ion liad been 

tried and found wanting. ilamijt//n wa* oi inat opinion. Of 
tiie two, ifafoilton 

t/^ Kubver' ■'''• '•' ■ - -v.; J . , /,; 0-..W-,.- 

rea/Jy r;/v.'. . of iU , \i \>nrr 

had ihnntd any •:* a '//arpom^ however va;^ue, however 

remote it« probable execution, to seixe the myreme authority, 
he w'. of the 



man v 

pi 'J a;/ 



!/y 



•;/v.t !?;, vv>/^^'yi pO- 



Jo.nwiry (So date nmacA, but proV/ably a>x>ut tlw; 20th). 
ifamilt^/o wriu^iif iu~hot laufUt, to Gouveneur Morri«, at 









2-. 
r>, - 



Ucsia wuii <u> li^ 



W^^shiujiton, to oo»\\\»v\»t\\o;Mo so\»\o iiUoruwtuMi tor \ij5<> iiivjunst 

•• I huston," Uo ?*}VYvS "to givo \A>u svMivo iutonujuiou whuxh 
lujvy bo \usot\vl. 1 k\u>\v. sK'* .•> t;>o(, ihM ovtM'tmvs hnvo boon 
w>!Uio bv UnuUiJji' ln»Hv»vln!Usoriho IVaoval i^utv to Mr. liurr, 
who vlooliuovs to >>ivo !vny assuvauoo vospootinjj bis tut mo in- 
touuous ;uul oo»>auoi> s;uiuj;- i\\M lo kU^ \t tiiigbi i»>j\vro hutt 
witb lus tViou^ls !>nvl buulor (bo\r ov>i\pov}\luM\; tbivt M ovi^Ut 
to bo iutorrovl iKmu t|»o ivovvs^ity of bis t\itviro situation, jvs it 
wuavvlovl tho vUs:)ppointn\ot»t anvl }U\i«no?4ity ot'tbo unti-Fodot^ 
aiists; th;u tbo Kodoralists, wlyinvj uihm\ ibis, luivibt pjvvvod 
in tbo oortniuty that, vj{H>n 5\ soovMwi UvUot> Now Yv>vk a\id 
'l\Mu>ojt?»oo wv^nlvl jvMn binu It is likowiso asoovtiunovi that he 
portootly \n\vUM^tanUs bimsolf with Kvlwjuvl Livingston, who 
wiU bo bis ,\vv,»»* at tho sivnt v»t' ii\>YOvntno«t. 

"'Hnis yon soo th;\t Mr. Unvr is ivsolvovl to inwsorvo hiui- 
st^lt' in rt sitvnuio»\ to Uvlhojv tv> bis toi»nor iVionUs, ong;\ii\s 
nvonts. ;«\vl jn\>itH>tsS, and to nvso tho Kodorali^sts rts t<Hvls tvt' his 
ag>jvunvii«onvont, 

" Ho will s;\tis«y thoni that bo bsvs kopi hinisolt* t'jvo to ooi\- 
tinuo his \\ IjuivMjs with t' 1 ius n\;iny ot' tboiw aiv sooivtly 

attav^bovl t\^ b.in\» tbt n ^^ o^oodily invinood to rally uu* 

dor bis st.nubmK to \. ..vid tbo nnprinoiplod of our 

jxarty, and ho will l^utjib at tbo i\vst, 

" It is a taot that Mr, Bnrr is now in tivv^nont and oKvso tHU\' 
tvMvnvvwith a l>Nvnohn\an, who is sns|>ootovi of Wing an ;»iivnt 
of tbo Ktvnv^b gVYovnmo' • - ' it is not to bo donbtod th.>t bo 
wiU W tbo tirnx aUv of l- ^ irto, 

"You ax>> «t UKntv to sWw this lottov to suoh tVionds as 
YOU think tit, osiwially Mr. lv»y?u\\, of \^olawan\ iu whoso 
jwv vnd svMmd S\ms^> 1 bavo muoh ovMvtivlomv, 

• i\ . ^ ad •• ' 'vt\l a moiv tvxxlish gauio 

than will vlo I v^vt l^.lrr." 

Wxm this hntox^ V .that - , '> rx>- 

sjHVtinij aw o v i\H>oiYOvi with tho sanxo v^ntioti 
as bis .:vi\\wxi l.uingstvxu w^*s no agvnt of *urr'*, 
\lo wns t, . svH>n ap|Hwr, trno tv^ •■ ; ^ <'j' ^^j 
to Ms |xartY» ;. .- ,o.^"*v>u^il nuvst vvntidor. luis. 



rtu'/tmuXifr \m yrcf'tfrtcufAt f/tr litirr. AMn : " I n<;v<fr whh m 
■f. I'.':': , <U/ ufA rna Uut yn^fran/A, iu>y '^... g^/c Vt X'..i)X (^j*;,;- 

ifixfit'ilUfU^n wArnifi{/H wart: \\ii\t; \tt'A'A('A hy tSit- F</: 
ifi; ' ,'»« r>f '^ iJfjrr wrrf^j at. ' U> proi'-o^ 

YA'iU'i., i' •. 

'r\ii; Any for ihh ■> in tb^ Motwt of fJ^rr,- vr*. 

hrrivcA. 'tilth iiott^: ( ■ 1 of </ri^ ; 

b<rr«, ^/f whom a «i; '-m. 'j > 

fel/' Stat/* in t,.','; !,;,,o.', , a r(i.iif'/nJ.y '' 

hi// / U> Ml <;!"'■''•' • ' '? '*'- ff' ■' 

isiio'if'M X/f thtt two 

unniiMiT fA' hU'^^/ral ¥(/UtH. If a y <A Uth r/fA/n^ 

f/ern would Unvh <; Itts^M 

ii\ht^/A 'fU t,h<; firhX t//...(A,. \ 

y,,,..' , .... , (■ t', ,. A-.-. :; ,. u, .. 

i',' 

n VtAcrA axf^^Ahirft ti ; to vXrAVth or wiftry the ». 

c'ifUA tdfjh'tfurn irtU} vfA,tu^ ir/r Hnrr, tft*j h 

1/ ■' ^ 

V . _ 

tittiiimt; — for thi^ft i^ffttM wi'rc ^ft'. ihitt g<:,. 

who wm tier. H hy hw miU% 

Or. 

jfinia. V. .,..,.., '-' '! '.' ; 

forV, ., Si-.wW/ 

ari/1, ' wwrh^ mA iy/uth (J Verr 

and S]yir<j.y,hii wcf t'-*'0 C-^. 

fi;rv>n re -.. , ^ ... , , / '. .. . .,.. ./^ '//r*- 



2S8 LIFE OP AARON BURK. 

linuod, at intorval>s all that ilay, all through the lught, and 
until noon of the day Ibllowiuo-. The vote Mas taken twenty- 
nine times witliout the slightest change or prospect of change. 
Then the exhausted members evaded their resolution not to 
adjourn, hy agreeing to take a reeess. l^ogged obstinacy sat 
on every countenance. 

For seven days the country was kept in suspense, and Rumor, 
with all her tongues, was busy. During tins period, and im- 
mediately atler it, certain letters were written, ami entries 
made in })rivate jom-Mals, the perusal of which will complete 
the reader's knowletlge of the Tie, and the Tie intrigues, 

Mbruan/ lOt/i. — On the lirst dav of the balloting, Judo-o 
Cooper of >.'ew York (tather of J. Fennimore Cooper), a re- 
markably 'liightlying Federalist,' and, at that time, a member 
of the House, wrote as follows to his friend Thomas IMorris: 

"* We have this day locked ourselves up by a rule to pro- 
ceed to choose a President before we adjourn. * * * We 
shall run Burr perseveriugly. You shall hear of the result 
instantly alter the laet is ascertained. ^-1 little (jood ma/iage- 
meut icotihl have secured our object on the ^first vo^c, but now 
it is too late for any operation to be gone into, except that of 
adhering to Burr, and leave the consequences to those who 
have heretofore been his friends. If wo succeed, a taithful 
support must, on oiu* part, bo gi\ on to his administration, 
which, I hope, Avill be wis%and energetic." 

Two days alter, Judge Cooper writes again to Mr. Alorris : 
"AYe have postponed, until to-morrow 11 o'clock, the voting 
for President. All stand tirm. Jetferson eight — Burr six — 
divided two. Had Hurr done ani/ thin(/ for himself^ he 
tcould long ere this have been President. If a majority would 
answer, he would have it on every vote." 

Mbrumy 10th. — This was the second day of the balloting. 
Jetterson, who was then in his place as President of the Sen- 
ate, enters in his diary the following gossip : 

"Edward Livingston tells me that Bayard applied to-day 
or last night, to General Samuel Smith, and represented to 



THE TIE lafTJJIGCES. 289 

him the expediency of Lw <ry;'n:r;ir over to tfce fttat«K who vote 
for Burr, that there «'a« i ^n the way of appointim«t 

which he ro%ht not ryymaiand, and particularly mentiotte'l the 

«eeretary-hjp of th'^ navy. Hr; ' ' if he wa* ' 

iz':-' -, ---,'•-;'•-: ',"';r. He fc;^. . ;•; ^;., ■>,..! 

to. - . -- . _ - />n, and t/> SV. C, 

to rne. Jl-ivard in like manner temj>ted L -'n, not V^y 

of' 'ij^ any particular offi*^*, but by representing to him bia, 
J,; . ^»ton'», intimacy and connection with Burr; that from 
him he had eve ' ' he would ©ome over to 

hiff!. To JJr. J..... .. ... .. - ., they have ofiV^red the 

!i/y.'::atii<iut of Sew .J(;n^y"' 

The part whidi Bayard took in the bujane®* will be narrated 
by himfceif in a moment, Ui^on the ; Ion of tins volume 

of 5Ir, Jefffrroon's work whi'-h 'y-v , . .'; aV^ove, G'rneral 
Bmlth, then a Sena*' • •' ' - '^■■■■'■- '- ' '" "^ '^ .Viriate 

that no fiuch pro{/0- . - . ^-^'^• 

F^J/npj;ry lUh^ Jefferson records r owing: "General 

Amiiitrong tfJl* me that Qron\'iin*iViT Morris, in conversatioa 
witlAim to-day on the ftf^^ne which j 'fj»jed him- 

8<,-ll'thui>. '^lifjvf (^jtoisn it,' says he. " ' '- :^' ■;.■' 

hundred miles off (at AJly&ny^ ijas fc^ - 

gr<:rat activity, while 3Ir. Jefferison, who is on the Kpot, does 
noli.ing?"' 

A year or two after the " scene** wa« over, it >>ecame the 
subVrct c^' " ' ''■ - - ■ ' ■' ■' at Jefferson's table. After 

djtjfjcr, .J ?ry as foUows; "3Iattheir 

Lyonnoi. he liepubiicarj* of Wa^ 

ingt'^n, pending the presidential ele/jtion, and expressed hiij 
wish that every thing was spoken out which wa« known ;. that 
it would then appf^ar on •■ ;^ ^i ,j.^ ^.^;. - . -■- ^ 

vot'.-i;. and he de<;lare'1 ^ -. — ->. ^-^'n of i... , . . .. _, 

urging him to votfi fr>r ^ liurr, used these words, ' What 

is it you want. Colonel Lyon V Is it office, is it money ? Only 
say what you want, and you shall have it.* " 

Who can l^.-Iieve a raaii to whom sodii a pr'-. ''''■^- oo;M 
have been even remotely hinted? Jefferson h;->vv.-. ;.;jj;_->;J 
Heak in recording stuff of this kirid. 

12 



290 LIFE OP AARON BUEK. 

That every thing against Burr may api^ear, I copy the follow- 
ing from Jefferson's diary of a still later date, January, 1804 : 
" Colonel Hitchburn of Massachusetts reminded me of a letter 
he had written me from Philadelphia, pendmg the presidential 
election, says he did not therein give the details. That he was 

in company at Philadelphia with Colonel Burr and : 

that in the course of the conversation on the election. Colonel 
Burr said, ' We must have a President, and a constitutional 
one, in some way.' 'How is it to be done?' says Hitchburn ; 
* Mr. Jefferson's friends will not quit him, and his enemies 
are not strong enough to carry another.' ' Why,' says Burr, 
' our friends must join the Federalists, and give the President.' 
The next morning at breakfast. Colonel Burr repeated nearly 
the same, saying, ' Vf e can not be without a President, our 
friends must join the Federal vote.' ' But,' says Hitchburn, 
' we shall then be without a Vice-President, who is to be our 
Vice-President ?' Colonel Burr answered, ' Mr. Jefferson.' " 

This sounds like thfe toadying tale of an office-seeker. 

• 

February \bth. — Mr. Jefferson writes to his friend Mdtoroe : 
" If the Federalists could have been permitted to pass a law 
for putting the government into the hands of an officer, they 
would certainly have prevented an election. But we thought 
it best to declare, one and all, openly and firmly, that the day 
such an act passed, the middle States would arm ; and that no 
such usurpation, even for a single day, should be submitted 
to. This first shook them ; and they were completely alarmed 
at the resource for which we declared, namely, to reorganize 
the government, and to amend it. The very word convention 
gives them the horrors, as in the present democratical spirit of 
America they fear they should lose some of the favorite mor 
sels of the Constitution." 

One of Mr. Jefferson's letters to Dr. Rush records a scene 
that occurred, during this terrible week, between himself and 
President Adams : 

" When the election between Burr and myself," wrote Jef- 
ferson, " was kept in suspense by the Federalists, and they 



THE TIE INTRIGUES. 29x 

were meditating to place the President of the Senate at the 
head of the government, I called on Mr. Adams, with a view 
to have this desperate measure prevented by his negative. He 
grew warm in an instant, and said, with a vehemence he had 
not used toward me before, 

" ' Sir, the event of the election is in your own power. You 
Lave only to say you will do justice to the public creditors, 
maintain the navy, and not disturb those holding offices, and 
the - government will instantly be put into your hands. We 
know it is the wish of the people it should be so.' 

" ' Mr. Adams,' said I, ' I know not what part of my con- 
duct, in either public or private life, can have authorized a 
doubt of my fidelity to the public engagements. I say, how- 
ever, I wUi not come into the government by capitulation — I 
will not enter on it but in perfect freedom to follow the dic- 
tates of my own judgment.' 

" I had before given the same answer to the same intima 
tion from Gouveneur Morris. 

" ' Then,' said he, ' things must take their course.' 

"I turned the conversation to something else, and soon took 
my leave. It was the first time in our lives we had ever 
parted with any thing like dissatisfaction." 

JFebricart/ 22d. — The great question had been decided, but 
Hamilton had not heard the news. He writes to-day, a last 
letter to a friend at Washington, mentioning a fact which, he 
hoped, would utterly defeat the election of Burr. As one of 
the hundred proofs of Bui-r's consistency and integrity, as a 
politician, it deserves attention. Hamilton says : 

" After my ill success hitherto, I ought perhaps, in prudence, 
to say nothing further x>n tlie subject. But situated as things 
now are, I certainly have no advice to give. Yet I may, with 
out impropriety, communicate a fact — it is this : 

"Colonel Burr is taking an diCXhxe personal part in favor of 
Mr. Clinton, against Mr. Van Rensselaer, as Governor of this 
State. I have, ujyon my honor^ direct and indubitable evi- 
dence, that between two and three weeks jjast, he wrote a 
very mgent letter to Oliver Phdps^ of the western part of 



202 LIFE OF AARON BURK. 

this State, to imluco hh oxortiona in favor of Clinton. Is not 
tins an unequivocal conlirniation of wliat I predicted, that he 
will, in any event, continue to play the Jacobin game ? Can 
any thing else expliiin his conduct at such a iU(unon(, and 
under such circunistaiu'es ? I might add several other things 
to prove that he is resolved to adhere to, and cultivate his 
own party, who lately, more than evei-, have shown the cloven 
foot of rank (Tlicob/'nisiny 

To what a ridiculous pitch Hamilton's feelings were wrought 
during the struggle, is shown by his subsequent avowal to Mr. 
Bayard : " It is believed to be an alanuing fact, that while the 
question of the presidential election was pending in the House 
of Representatives, parties were organizing in several of the 
cities, in the event of their being no election, (o cut oj^' the 
leading J/bderallsts and seize the government P^ 

March Sth. — After seven days of occasional dogged ballot- 
ing, the excitement in the country ever on the increase, and 
threatening to become serious, the struggle was terminated 
by Mr. Bayard. The manner in which he did this he related 
at the time in a letter to Hamilton, which letter is an import- 
ant link in Burr's vindication. 

"Your views," wrote Mr. Bayard, on the Sth of JMa-rch, 
''in relation to the election diftered very little from my own, 
but I was obliged to yield to a torrent, wdiich I perceived 
niight be diverted, but could not be opposed. 

"In one case I was willing to take Burr, but I never consid- 
dered it as a case likely to happen. If by his conduct he had 
conqiletely tbrfeited the confidence and friendship of his party, 
and left himself no resort but the support of the Federalists, 
there are many considerations which would have induced me 
to prefer him to Jeiferson. But I was enabled soon to dis- 
cover that he was determined not to shackle himself witii 
Federal principles ; and it became evident that if he got in 
without being absolutely committed to his own party, that he 
would be disposed and obliged to play the game of M'Keau 
upon an improved plan and enlarged scale. 

" In the origui of the business, 1 had contrived to lay hold 



THE TIE INTRIGUES. 293 

of all the doubtful votes in the House, whieh enabled me, ac- 
cording to views which presented themselves, to protract or 
terminate the controversy. • 

" This arrangement was easily made from the opinion read- 
ily adopted from the consideration that, representing a small 
State without resources which could supply the means of self- 
protection, I should not dare to proceed to any lengths which 
would jeopardize the Constitution, or the safety of my State. 
When the experiment was fully made, and acknowledged upon 
all hands to have completely ascertained that Burr was re- 
solved not to commit himself, and that nothing remained but 
to appoint a President by law, or leave the government with- 
out one, I came out with the most explicit and determined, 
declaration of voting for .Jefferson. You can not well imagine 
the clamor and vehement invective to which I was subjected 
for some days. We had several caucuses. All acknowledged 
that nothing but desperate measures remained, which several 
were disposed to ado])t, and but iaw were willing openly to 
disapprove. We broke up each time in confusion and dis- 
cord, and the manner of the last ballot was arranged but a 
few minutes before the ballot was given. Our former har- 
mony, however, has since been restored. 

" The public declarations of my intention to vote for Jeffer- 
son, to which I have alluded, were made without a general 
consultation, knowing that it would be an easier task to close 
the breach which I foresaw, when it was the result of an act 
done without concurrence, than if it had proceeded from one 
against a decision of the party. Had it not been for a single 
gentleman from Connecticut, the eastern State* would finally 
have voted in blank, in the same manner as done by South 
Carolina and Delaware-; but because he I'efused, the rest of 
the delegation refused ; and because Connecticut insisted on 
continuing the ballot for Burr, New Hampshire, Massachu- 
setts, and Rhode Island refused to depart from their former 
vote. 

" The means existed of electing JBurr^ hut this required his 
cooperation. Hy deceiving one mart [a great blockhead)^ 
and tempting two {not incorrirptible), he might have secwred 



2nl 1, 1 II' IC O F A A K O N H Vr R U. 

(i uxtjon'fi/ o/f/><> iStfrff'ii. llt> will novor luvvo Muodior cliaiioo 
of iM'iMio: rr(>si(lt'nt of fh(Mhii(i>(l States; aiul tlio littlo use 
lu» has ma(li> of tho ono w iiioli has ocourrotl, <>ivos mo but an 
luunblo o|tiiiiou (W"(Iu> taloiils oTan impriiu-iplod man." 

Thus iMulod tho groat, slrugglo, duriuj;' w hioli tho Const ilu 
ti(U> was suhjoolod io [ho st^vorost strain it has over known, 
au'l l)ori> i( willioul ono uiouumU's roal danu«'r of giving way. 
lis history has boon horo givon in tho language of Colonel 
IJurr's biltt>r oiiouiios. Tiu' improssiiui whioh that hist()ry so 
related will leave on the mii\(l ol' the readev, ean not. be Ibrc- 
soiMi. It was the diligent reading ol' Burr's politieal liistory 
ill (he h'ltors, jiamiililets. aiul no\vspai>ers oi" his onomies ami 
oppoiuMits. whieli eonvineed nu* that, as a partizan, he aetod 
throughout with the strietest homu' and oonsistoney I 

The Ith oT INrareh, 1801, was a <biy oT rejoieing throughout 
the rnitoil States. AlVer a period of painful anxiety, the eoun- 
try breathed again. Proeessions, orations, and banquets tes- 
tiiied, ill iht^ larger citi(>s and ttnvns, to tlu^ publie Joy. Tho 
inauguration w;is happily aehii>\u>d at the usual lunir. In the 
ovouiug, rri'sident JotVerst>n and \iee-Presitleut Hurr rooiuv^d 
the eongratnla(ii>ns of gentlemen ol' both parties at tlie presi- 
dential mansion, where all but a few of the most bigoted Fed- 
eral Senators and Kepresentatives were to be seen in tho 
throng that gathered round the vietorious ehiefs. The in- 
auguration spoeeh had lulled the apprehensions of tlie Feder- 
alist.s, and the new order of things was aoeepted with a good 
graee. 

Far away, at Albany, the Uejniblioans of tho New York 
logislatvu-e were banqueting hilarii>usly. Tn re]H>rting tho 
prooeedings o( this oeeasion, the Albany /uy/VVtV* informed 
the world that tlie eompany " did not lorget the important 
sucooss of tho Kepublieans in tl\e ehoiee of that tirm and tried 
patriot, vVaron Ibirr, as Vico-President of the United States." 
!Ne\t to tlie toast gi\eu in honor of the President, the tbllow- 
ing was otVered : 

"Aaron Hurr, Vico-Prosivleut of the llnited States ; his uui- 



THE TIK INTRIOUBS. 295 

form ari'l patriotic exertions in favor of KopuLlicanifrn e^IIpHed 
only by liis late di.sinterested conduct." 

Not a whiHpor of dissension was heard. Do Witt Clinton, 
who had held aloof from the great campaign of 1800, was 
l»reseiit at the hanfjiu-t, and offfjred this toast: 

" Our Koj^ublican brethren of the South — may wc always bo 
united with them in the elevation of patriots, and the promo- 
tion of good principlcH," 

Fiery John Adams could not stibmit with decent dignity to 
his fate. " 'J'he last day," says Jefferson, " of his political 
power, the last hour, and even beyond midnight, were em- 
ployed in filling all offices, and especially permanent ones, 
with the bitterest Federalists, and providing for me the alter- 
native, either to execute the government by ray enemies, 
whose study it would be to thwart and defeat all rny meas- 
ures, or to incur the odium of such numerous removals from 
office as might bear me down." Jiy davfjreak on the morning 
of the inauguration the ex-President had left the seat of gov- 
ernment for ever.* 

The Federal j^arty tasted the sweets of power no more. 
The leaders continued, and continue, to forebode the country's 
ruin, while they enjoy the lion's share of its prosperity. 

llarailtOTi bought a few acres of land near tfie city, and re- 
lieved the monotony of law by improving his grounds. When 
next he wrote to General Pinckney, he begins his letter by 
requesting liis friend to se/i'l him some Carolina melon-seed 

* John AdarriH wCTit to his grave without undcrgtanding tho nature of the 
revolution wliich onnUi'l hirn. hi 1811 he wrote to Dr. Rush : " In point of 
lUiiinhVumrimn, all the diflcTonfiO f over knew or could diHcover hctv/eon yoc 
and tm:, or Vitweon .Jefferson and ma, eon.Hist'jd, 

" 1. In the difference be^een Bpfiechew and r/ieH«agOH. I wa« a monarchiHt 
bcc-'iti.HO I tb'^uj^ht a Bpo<;ch more manly, more respectful to CongresH and tho 
nalioii. J<;n';rHon and ilunh preferred ifjeH.%ige«. 

" 2. I held levocfl once a week, that all my time might not be wnjd'A by 
idle vigita. JbiTnTHfjn^H whole eight yeara was a levee. 

"3. I dined a larj.''; ryiTripany on% or tv/iee a week. .Tefr',T-<on dined a 
dozen every day. 

"4. .J<" :or Jit^orty aiiti Ktraigtil najr. I thought ci;r]ryj 

hair wa« ;> /dt." 



206 I. I V K O !'• A A K () N 1! V U K. 

lor Ills mnv ^ludt'ii, and s(>ii\i> Caroliiia |>:nriHHU'ls for lii.s 
d;m_<;hli>r. 'VA i^anloii, you Uiiow, is a. vory tjsnnl vofu<!;o lor 
a dis!H)i)oii»toil politician," said lie. His KtliMS, iiuU'iMl, wcm-o 
utill rail ol" |>olitios, but llicy wni' oltcii coiu-IuhI in the laii- 
guago of tlcspair. " IMiiio is an odd d(\s(iny," ho wroto to 
Gi>uvon(>ur IMonis. '* I'crhaps no man in Iho Unitod Statos 
has saorilifi'd or doni> \novo I'ov \\\o prt>sont C\>nstil,u(ion than 
myiSolf; and, coiilraiy lo all my antici[>ations of its l;iti>, as 
yi>u know, ficin (ht> very bc^iunini;'. I am still lahorinu," to 
]n'o\i tho fiail and wi)itliU'ss fabric. Vet 1 havo the munnnrs 
oi' its lVi»Mids, no less than the ciirsi's of its foes, lor my re- 
ward, ^^'hal can I do better than willuh'aw I'rom the scene? 
Every <lay [)roves to me, more and nuu-e, that this Amerioan 
world was nol madi- lor me." 

Tho country was jil peace. The strife of parties, for tlH> 
inon\ent, ceased. The real wish of tlie pi'oph^ was so com- 
pletely satistied by thoeh'ctiou of .)i>lVerson, that, for twenty- 
four years he and his tViiMtds kept possession of tln^ uovern- 
uuMit. without serious opposition. .lellerson iulu'rileil the 
emu's of Adams and the able de\iees ol' llamilti>n; by abau- 
doniui;' the former, and retaining the latter, and, above all, by 
jviyiug hon\ag»* to the republican idea in the miiun* arrange- 
uients of his house and administration, he won a vast and iui- 
movablo popularity. 

J/i/toi' arrang(Mnents, do T call tlieni '? Of all the facts that 
contributed to the popularity which .\merica enjoyed in 
KuroiH\ down to the bi-ginning of tlu* pri'sent contention be- 
tween Pemocraey and Slavery, a i>i>[>ularity wliieh /'(()/)/((/ tho 
free States, no tale was so captivating to the iMuopean im 
ngiuation, sick oi' tawdiy relic-s oi' barbarinis ages, sick ot' 
courts and their stupid usages, as tins : In Atnertca ainj luur 
may t/o (i/iJ .nv.' f/w Pirsnfcuf^ (Vtd .sVhrX"*: hafnh icith hh». 
Cheap land was not tl»e attraction. Land was cljeaj) in Aus- 
tralia, in Canada, in I'.ra/.il, in N'irginia. It was that little fact, 
and what it implioil, which freighted our homeward-bound 
ships with wealth in its most condeusod and productive form, 
namely, honest, stalwart hun\an beings! 



CII A PTEK X V\\. 

TTIK VTO K-P R KBTDEKT. 

TuzOfificK. or \ii;ryl'y.yj'.ii>y.nt —hiKM-tj^or. 01/ 'I ur/iurmi a — ii im Host — hi.f.ki-, hkt 
i.i'itit i!t Him — Urn Hivi.y. hv Livi^ti — iim (>,v.Ki*.my <>» Cti.UKie—Hia I'oki;- 
I.AKIIY ADD (xiaik.ie.Ki, Go'jO FotcitDiK. 

Wk behold our hero now upon tlia «urrirnifc of h'm career. 
At the age of forty-five, ten yearg after hwxnn'iw^ known in 
national politics, he Htand« one step below the highest places 
to whicli by politics a rnan can rce. 

'J'he office of Vice-i-'rc'/Kk-nt of the L'nited States, besides 
the <;ho.wA which gives it irn|;ortanee, has, in any casf;, an 
odor of nationality about it which gives it dignity. Impetuous 
John Adams called it an insignificant office. But that wan 
when the old war-Fiorse fieard the noise of batti'; in the Ifousfc 
of itepresentatives, or saw it wagifig before him in the Senate, 
and longed, as of old, to plunge into the thickest of the fight. 
Adams really enjoyed the safe honors of the place as well as 
any man. At that day, somethi/ig of the old sanr^ity still 
clunr/ to hi^rh office, and it was more to be Vic^^President than 
it is now, liurr, too, stood in the line of succession, Adams 
rose from the second office to tfie first, and Jefferson fiad just 
done the same. That Aaron Burr should in like manner be 
advanced, was what precedent indicated, what his partisans 
counted on, and wfia€the people naturally looked for, >f ean- 
wfiile, he wore his honors with the airy dignity which be- 
longed to the rnan. It is apf;arent in his rnerry, sprightly 
correyjjondenc^;, that he took pleasure in filling a place that 
called into r^^nspicuous cxdrMne the very qualities in which he 
excelled all the public men of bis time. 

He was happy in his domestic circumstances. His two 
stei>-s/>ns, to whom he had ever shown rnr.re than a father's 



298 LIFE OF AARON BURR. 

liberality, had prospeve<l Avell in life. One of them was now 
Juclo-e Prevost, Recorder of the city of New York ; the 
otKer, a country gentleman of competent estate in Westches- 
ter county. A young lady of French extraction, whom he 
had, in effect, adopted, and who had grown up and been edu- 
cated with Theodosia, and whom he loved only less than his 
own child, was married, about this time, to a young man of a 
distinguished southern family. 

And Theodosia was married. AYhile the politicians supposed 
that Colonel Burr was full of the alleged tie negotiation, and 
some, of them imagined that he was intriguing with all his 
might for the presidency, he was, in reality, occupied with the 
marriage of his daughter with Joseph Alston of South Caro- 
lina^ which occurred while the great question was pending. 
This*, with his duties in the legislature, absorbed his thoughts 
and time. It was a marriage in every respect fortunate and 
suitable. Mr. Alston was twenty-two years of age, a gentle 
man in all the senses of the word, and possessed of considerable 
property in rice plantations. He was also a man of talent, as 
is evident from his subsequent career, and from the elegance, 
ingenuity, and force of his letters to Theodosia. When tirst 
he became her accepted suitor, he was merely the young man 
of fortune, without any detinite object in life. He had been 
admitted to the bar, it is true, but had never had nor sought 
professional employment. Colonel Burr fired him with his 
own ambition, stimulated his powers, urged and directed his 
studies, advised his occasional appearance in the courts, and 
induced him to enter the political ai'ena. Mr. Alston soon 
made himself prominent in the politics of his native State, of 
which, in due time, he became governor. "• Burr was a princely 
tather-in-law," says a gentleman still livino- who was intimate 
with both families. 

I can well believe it. " You know," he wrote to Theodo- 
sia, atler she had gone to her southern home, " that you and 
your concerns are the highest, the dearest intei-est I have in 
this world, one in comparison with which all others are insig- 
uiticant." Father and daughter were on delightfvil terms with 
one another : he playful tender, considerate, wise, contiding 



THE VICB-PEBSIDENT, 299 

every thing to her ; she amusing him with her graceful wit, 
cheering him with her affection, rejwsing in him an absolute 
trust. He stiU directed her studies. Indeed, the burden of 
his advice to her always was: Never cease to improve your 
mind ; better lose your head than your habits of study. , " The 
longer I live,*' she writes to him, "the more frequently the 
truth of your advice evinces itself that occupation is necessary 
to give us command over ourselves.*' That is an eminently 
Bui-r-ian maxim, 

liei- removal to a State which was then tw^enty days' journey 
from New York, was a drawback to his happiness in her mar- 
riage. But, during these happy years, Theodosia's visits to 
the home of her childhood were frequent and long. And who 
so much caressed as the beautiful young matron from South 
Cai'olina, the daughter of the Vice-President ? She led the 
society of two States ; and was worthy to lead it. It is not 
difficult to discover that she pieferred her northern home. 
She declared that the society of New York was so superior to 
that of the South, that a woman must be a fool who denied it. 
Even our scenery was incomparably finer, she thought. One 
who only knows the outskirts of New York, as they now ap- 
]>ear, tunneled, excavated, shantied, and every way disfigured 
by the advance-guard of the marching metropolis, can not 
j-ecognize TheodosLa's description of the scene a« it was in 

1802. After ret ' - ' ' '• father's town-house one day, 

from a visit to 1: , which excursion she called "a 

ride into the country," she wrote to her husband thus : " Never 
did I behold this island so beautiful. The variety of vivid 
greens ; the finely-cultivated fields and gaudy gardens ; the 
neat, cool air of the cits' boxes, peeping through straight rows 
of tall poplars, and the elegance of some gentlemen's seats, 
commanding a view of the majestic Hudson, and the high, 
dark shores of New Jersey, altogether form a scene so lively, 
»o touching, and to me now so new, that I was in constant 
rapture," 

In due time her boy, her only child, was born, whom she 
named after her father. Henceforth this boy, next to Theo- 
dosia, was the dearest object on earth to Aaron Burr, Surely, 



.SOO 1.1 K K O V A V i: t> N I! r !>' IC. 

n<>\t>r \v;>s gniniK-liiM so \o\i.H\ ;is (Iiis !;i;uhK'liiM w m-^ 1>v l\iiu. 
llo >v!is nvvor w o;»rv (»t" its I'tMupMiiy. Wo ciMiM iu-mm- h(>;vr 
rii.>u;vl> ol'iis wMvsjuhl \vonl.><. Tlx^xlosiiv lillt>«l \\liolt> K'Ut'is 
wilh niwralivos nTllio bov's small o\j>loits i\iu\ nuiunt suyitiy.s; 
niul hor Ihlhor wouKl nnswor : " Vimi nro :v «lo;u", _y;tn>(l littlo 
girl [o wiilo »uo so, juul ol' doar Uulo (imtipt/^ t»n>, so imu'li ; 
yt^t Nt^tyr f'ftoihjh. t5o»l bloss thoo." </«f »/</»// was fhtM'liilirs 
motKMW'prouiMmoinu' (r'r<r^*(//»»/, '!\ii<l l>uri- uomm- i'allo<l liim l>y 
any (Mhor nanu\ unloss it was (\amj«illus, (JaiuiMllo, (5aiu|>, or 
somo olluM- \arialion of (lu> san\t> worvl. How j>roiul I hoy all 
woi't^ oC (ho ohiKl's robust bt^uity and his (juiok inti>lli>ioi\oo, 
au<l, what tlu> jviaudtathor vahiod abino all virtuos, his oonr- 
itji'O. (bio si'(Mio ol' his i^arly yoars !;a\o Ibirr int>\prossiblo ilo- 
livyht to witiioss. and, in al\»M' tintv^s, to dosoribo. Tho boy was 
playiuj;- alono in a tiold, wilh a stiok in his hand, as tall as hinw 
solt", whilo his pari>nts and j>~randlathor woro lookinj*- on tVon\ a 
distanoo. Suddenly, a !;oat that was y;ra/.inL>,' iu>ar tho ohild 
bojjan to nialvo hosiilo doiuonst rat ions, loworiuj;' his hoad and 
siilolinji' u[>to tho boy, in tho way usual with iratooi>;\ts botbro 
niakius;- an assault. Tho bov was ovidoutiv tVi^htonoil. Still, 
ho l;u*«*d tho ouiMuy. 'V\w i.';y'>M advanood i-lost* to hiui, w hou, 
J\ist as tho auiuial was about to opon an atlav'k, littlo (riuftp 
lit\od his stiok with a u»i;;hty otVort, aiul brought it down 
whaok upon tho goat's hoail, whioh sv> astouishod tho bt>ast. 
that ho rat\ away. Tho ohild wa^s oiily in his third or lonrth 
yoav whontlus oooiu'rod. \N\>rds oa»i not oxpross tho raptnro 
with whioh tho grandt'athor saw tho boy's gallantry. From 
that hour ho boro hint in his hoart ot' hoarts, aiui lovod all tho 
ohildron in tho world bottor tor this ono's sako. 

l\» add to his good lbrt\n\o, his pooujuary prospoots bright- 
o»»od, on l>is aooossiow to otlioo. Now York was thoii a oity 
ot' tto,000 iul»abitai\ts, an»l was advan<Mng with groat rapidity. 
Thoi>dosia horsolf vomarks. it\ ono ot' hov lotttM's, (hat " it\ ton 
t>v twonty yoars, a lumdrod auvl thirty aoros ot" land on Now 
York Island will boooiwo a priuoipality." Oolonol l?nrr ow no»l 
a largo traot ot' laud about Kiohmond Hill. His grouiuls o.\- 
toiivlod to tho Noi'th Uivor, and, noavor tho oity, thoro was a 
piooo ot'waior upon his ostato whioh oUlorly inhabitants may still 



'Ill K V t<'.K'1'nif.HI UKSr. 'iO] 

vi-ui<:ift\)<:v ;iH t.fif) fhvoiil.f; Hkaiinpf-plfu;^! of iJioir hoyhoo'l. it, 
wan fifillf!'! " I»(irr'H I'onrJ" yf^nrx fifU;r it cc.mcA to hr; hi«, down 
oven to tho tirruj when it wn« nilrjrj in, and hrjilt over. Th'?' 
pro^reHH of tlx; eity iai«<;d tlie value of Jill the, lanrj on the 
ixbid'!, ftrxl pju tir;(il!if ly of that wliieJi, like, IMehrriOfKi Hill, lay 
uithin halC-Jinhoni'M I'i'le. of the city, Ahout thi.Htirne, (Jolonel 
I5iirr wa« rnneh oceiipied with nei^otiatinj^ with Mr. J'^hn 
.laeoh A 'tor (or the xale of part, of hi.H liiehrnond Hill extatc. 
At len;(th, Mr, A«tor horj^ht all hnt the rnariMion and a i\iw 
iir.n-H around it, for tfie h\iiii of one hundred afid forty thoiinand 
dolh'irH, 'I'hf; harp^ain, for Mome rr.-Jtxon, waw afterward e,an- 
e<rled. I5ut, finally, the, Male wa« cornt>leted, and Colonel iJurr 
waH, for the time, dr;livered from hi« pecuniary cmharnwH- 
rnent.H. He even had thoii^htn of buying another estate fur- 
ther up the i.Mlafid, ft ivi <!vident that hiH Htyle of living waw 
Huefi siH wan tfwin huppoMed to hc.cjmia an elevated »1,atio/i. 
Half a do/en horne-M, a town-houne and eountry-houne, a riu- 
rncrouH retinue of MervantH, and a I'"ren'',h cook, were aniong 
the ,Hurni»tuoMitieH of hi>» eHtahlinhfrient, Jerome lionapart*;, 
then on the (;ve of IiIk marriage with MinH I'atterxon, wan en- 
tfjilained at dinner and at hreakfuHt f;y the, Vice-I'rexident, 
who invited larg(! corrif)anie'K to meet the futiirc monarch, in 
whoHC ante-f;hamherH l>urr WJW, one day, to kick hiH heeJM, a 
Hiipfiliant for an audience. 

Iiie,hmond Hi!I/.v,iH without a mi.«(tre«,M, In thene fortunate 
yearn it waM that Colonel IJurr paid hiw court to one of the 
lovelicMt of Philadelphia'^ ever lovely bellcH, and hud the. fi.'ir- 
rowcMt e«capft from a Hecamd marriage. 

They met, 'twan in a crowd ; and e;u;h wa« Kmitten with 
the other*** pleaxant ^jualiticM. Again, he saw her at her lather'M 
table, where bin atterrtiotiH were, e^jually [>ointed and welcome. 
A iMtoAHCy which he, nought wa.H interrupted by tlie entrance 
of h; 'ii'crc^ but her manner «eomed to beckon him on. He wjih 
idrnoHt in lovc. Hummoning her fjither to hix apartrnentH by 
note, and the old f^entleman app<raring within the hour, the 
enamored one cam*! to the poifit with a promjitncHH and Mclf^ 
pOHHCMMion impoHMible in a lover under fbily, 

" Im Crjieftte enga'"'d ?" 



'MVI \, \ K K O K A A K >> N 111' U K . 

•**Sl\o is woi:'' 

"Would it l>o rtjjrooahlo («> hor j>:uiM»ls it' Ooloiiol Uuri" 
liouM m;\ko ovovluros tor hor hiwul V" 

" It. wouM ho most !\,ijroo!\Mo." 

Tli<> l;uiy \\:\i\ ;.^>no to s|>onvl somo linys six iniU\s iuto tho 
>oui\trv, aiui thitlun- l>or lovor ridos tho t\o\t, luorninu;, with 
:u> i^;>}4,«M', Init ootnposoil uiiihl. Tolosti^ outors tht' linuvinjiv 
room. thou;;h he ]vm\ not :»sk«Ml ospooiallv lor l\or. (.\>uvor!4a- 
\\o\\ «M\.suos. Sho is :\11 wit ;uui UHVOtv ; tnovo ohtinuiniy thrtu 
ovov, tho lovor thinks, llo trios to tnvn tho oonvors;\ti(>n Ut 
tl»o suhjoot nojirost his hojvrt ; hut shi\ with tho L*:ood-hun>orod 
p'rtootul n>!vHoo o(' lovoly won»;n>. doloats his ondo.'wovs, utul 
so i\[ k'lst, qnit<^ oaptiv.Mtoil, ho tnkos his U>;»vo. 

*Plio s;»n\o hv>tir ot\ tho tonowiu);- mornini;' t'nuls hin\, onco 
>\toro, t^ft'-o-f^ff^ with tho ho.Mtitilul C\>K^sto. Convorsntioii 
j»5>!>in. Hut» this tin\o, tho j^vont vjuostiou \v;ts put. To (ho 
surpviso ot' this rtMU>W'noti k-uly-kiUor, (.\Oosto ropHos that sho 
is livinlv rosolvtHl ta^fyrto m<«Tv/ 

"1 ;\ni vtMV sorry to hour it, in;viinn\ ; I h:u1 prouusod my- 
solt' 5;>v:vt h;»}>pi>u\ss, hut o;»u uot hhu)\o your ilotorn\in;\tion/' 

Sho ropHotl ; " \\> ; oort;vi»»ly, sir, you o;u> ni>t ; Tor I roool- 
hvt to havoho.nrd y«>u oxpross surpriso that any wotuau shouKl 
u\arry, juui you ijavo suoh roasons, and with so nui<<h oKv 
ipiot>oo» as niado ;in iiidolihlo iniprossion ot> tuy mind. 

Tho \lis,appointotl swain roooivod tho rohtitV witl> portoct 
^H>urtosy and j^iH>d huntor. Thoy partod tho host tVionds, 

" Ha\o you any I'oininanvJs to town, madam" I wislt you 
a good n\v>rni»»j>\" 

Twv^ day* iv;\ssovi. Thon, a noto tK»nv OoU»sio surprised tho 
Ki^jootod, intormiu>;' him that sl\o was in towt» lor a tow horn's, 
and wouUl ho jjlad to soo hin>. llo was pupxlod, and hastonod 
to hor tor a si>hition. Tho intorviow h>st<Hl two houi*s, in tl\o 
ooiu\so oC whioh tho tonvlor suhjoot wa.s daintily touoht^l, hut 
tho U>vov torhoro to ronow his suit; a\ul t1»o oouvoj-sjvtiou 
ondod withotu rt\suU, Xox( dav, auot hot* noto tVon» tho hidv, 
sont in tVonv tl>o ivuntry, oxpvssJng "an unaUoiahlo dot(>rmU 
nation uovor asjahi to Us(o»\ tt^ his suit, and rovjuosiinjv that 
tho suhjovM luiiilu noYor ho rotjowod." 1-ato in tho ovoninjj 



T rr K V fCK-y aicni ifKHT. 303 

of tli(; Mfi;n<; day, on n^tiru'uK^ to hj«4 lod^inj^K, th<j Vm>-VrcM' 
'lout loarnc'd that a hoy hjyJ h<;<!f( thr«j<; tim<!» that aft^.Tnoon 
to deliver a timmA^a to hirri, hrjt fiad r<;i'im:<l U> «ay from 
wfiorn it carrie. At la«t (Jo)ori<;l linrr^H servant ha/J irntu-A \}th 
\><rj u> the town n-M\(h:ucM of (U;U;Hi<;. Karly next luomitK/ tho 
fn' -n;": came; (a;U:hU; requested an. interview, i'oftt-ha^te 
th«; V i' e-J'renident hied t/; the ynincAWM (>i' \m beloved. lie 
found her engaged with a vmUn^ boi (Am^r^fA that »he wa** 
ri'ltiifed uf>on hi» etit ranee, and 'un\iA\AiiUi for the departure 
ot he,r guent. At h-.n^^th they were alone, and he waited for 
her to c.tate her reaworw for d«''iring to stee hirn. With ex- 
treme r'mbarra«Mment, nhe xtarnniered out, aft<^ pteveral vain 
attempts to npaak, thai «he fear(;d her note hafi r^ft been 
c^^uchod in terrnn nuffleiently j;<;lite, and she ha^J therefore 
vviylied for an opportunity to apologize. She ryjuld utt<;r no 
rrioie. He, expecting no - " '• matter, s«tared in du/nh a«ton- 
JH!;frient, with an ah-urd ; > upon hi» f;<;untenance. A» 

«he Wit deeply etigag'-d in t<?aring to pie<Kr« K^;me r';«e«, and 
he in pinching new <-/>rrt(',rn in the rim ^/f hin hat, «he all 
1/ ■ ' '' he confounded and Hpee^'hlcM, the pair, 

J,< ,>; w ,,i,'4 u.',..^,. , would have ma'ie a caj/ital fvuf-'" ' for 
a pjtinter. JJe wan tfie lirMt to re/^^ver power to a. :, 

I; I /lug roundly that the fatal note wa« any thing hut polite 
and proper, he offergLl to return it, propos^jd that it »<hould be 
' r'rd canceled, and begged to be allowed to call the 

;. morning, and renew f' ■ ■*. To thiM she ohj'icted, 

r ■ f^ilfitly. Waiving his » , f<^;r a fonnal permit^ion, 

> ged the Hubject, and, aff-*;r an hour's not unpleasant 

eon . J :>,tion, took his leave. 

He now (y^nfenned U> Theodonia, f/>> whom the affair ha^i 
br;'-fi circumstantially-related, from day to day, that he was 
in flie w^ndjtion of a (M;rtain ry^untry judge before whom a 
f :- . «; had f>een t^;o ingeniously argued by the lawyers. " Gen- 
tlemen of the jury," said' the judge, "you must get along with 
cause as well an you can ; for my part, I'm swamped." 
iiut the sapient Theodosia was not puzzled in the least. "She 
meant," wrote 'i'heo., "from the beginning t/^ say that awfoj 
word, ye«/ but not choosing t^^ say it immediately, she t/*ld 



S04 T, T F TO OV AARON lUT R R . 

yon that yon had famished her witli arguments against niatri- 
mony, which in French means, Please, sir, to persuade me out 
of them again. But you took it as a phnnp refusal, and walked 
off. She called you back. What more could she do ? I 
Mould have seen you to Japan before I should have done so 
much." 

However, the offer of marriage was never renewed. The 
lover was probably himself undecided as to the desirableness 
of the match. But between him and Celeste there was always 
a tender friendship, and for many months it seemed likely 
enough that at some unexpected moment the conclusive word 
would be spoken. 

To complete his good fortune, he began his official life a 
very popular man. He was popular with his party for giving 
it victory. He was admired by vast nun\bers of honorable 
men, because he had disdained to seek his own elevation by 
defeating the will of a majority of his comitrymen. The 
eclat of office was added to his repntation as a soldier and as 
a politician ; and he, of all men, seemed to be the one most 
likely soon to have at his disposal the favors which a President 
can confer. There" chanced to be in 1801, before the Vice- 
President had yet presided over the Senate, a convention in 
the State of New York to make certain amendments bo the 
Constitution. Upon the meeting of the convention the Vice- 
President was made chairman by a unanimous vote. 

Up to this time, Aaron Burr hail known little but good for- 
tune. He had been a successful soldier, a more successful 
lawyer, a most successful politician. Fortunati* and happy in 
his ilomestic relations, he was strengthened now by the alliance 
of his daughter with an ancient and wealthy tivmily. His own 
estate was ample and improving. His rival and enemy was 
distanced. Still in the very prime of his days, there was but 
one more honorable distinction for hiui to gain, and that 
seemed almost within his grasp. High in the esteem of his 
own party, he enjoyed also the general respect of the Fede- 
ralists, as being a more moderate partisan than other leading 
Republicans. 

Such was the position of Aaron Burr in the year 1801. 



CHAPTER XYIII. 

CLOUDS GATHER. . 
The Geeat Ebeoeop BrBK'e Puuuo Life — Dwteibutios of t/ie Spoils — Chebi- 

HAM AND TUB AMKEIOAN CiTIZBX' — BuBE'S CoUKSK O.V THE .JcTOICIARY JilLL — ThB 
SirPPEESSED IflSTOBT OF y\l>AM8'B AdMIMSTBATION — HAMILTON'S MoEBID APPEE- 
HEXSrONS — BlTBE AT THE WASHINGTON BANQUET — HAMILTON'S NeW TaCTICS — 

Cheeiham's Calumnies — Tjieib liKKrTATioN — The Wab of 1'amphlk'is and 
Newspapebs — Dueling then — Hamilton's Eldest Son Falls in a Di;el — 
Duel BETWEEN John Swaetwout and De Witt Clinton — Kobeet Bwaetwoct 

AND KlCHAED EiKBb'S DcKL — DUEL BETWEEN COLEMAN AND CaITAIN THOMPSON 

— Bl'be Eunb foe Govebnok ok New Yoek — The Contest — Buee Defeated. 

But Fortune was now tired of befriending this man. His 
position was imposing, but hollow. As a politician, he never 
had any real basis ; such as great ideas, strong convictions, 
important original measures, a grand policy; nor were his pe- 
culiar gifts of a nature to charm the multitude. 

Aaron Burr should never have touched politics. He had no 
business with politics. Having made up his mind at old Dr. 
Bellamy's, that Honor was the god for a gentleman, and that 
Chesterfield was one of his prophets, he should have been con- 
tent to practice law, get a fortune, shine in society, make the 
tour of Europe, patronize the fine arts, give elegant dinners ; 
and so have been the inane and aimless individual that the 
rich American, since the Revolution, has usually plumed him- 
self upon being. Or, he should have emigrated to France. 
In soldiers, Frenchmen, and children, ambition is a nearly in- 
^ evitable incentive to exertion, and therefore pardonable. But 
for the citizen of a free State to seek or accept high public 
office for any smaller object than the public good, is not 
pardonable, but pitiable. The fatal day in the life of Aaron 
Burr was not on which he and his amiable foe both fell on the 
field of honor, never to rise, but on that on which he resolved, 
for party and personal reasons chiefly, to turn politician. 



sou LIFE OV AARON P IT H »^ . 

Accnrseil bo roUtii^i^ for over ! Tlu^ ninClstvom tliat has 
(IvHWii in antl ongiilioil so innny tiblo ami wtn-thy nu'ii. What 
talont it absorbs that is so Dooibnl olsowborel How many 
fair ropntations it has blasted ! Wliat toil, wliat ino-onuity, 
wliat wealth, what livos liavo been wasted u])on it ! How 
loan are politieal methods and expedients, and liow absnrdly 
lisjtroportioned are politit^al trinu\pl»s to their cost ! Poliliea 
oan never be relbnned. To abolish ]H>lities altoo'other is pevliaps 
the atonement Ameriea is i;(>ino;, one day, to make to an out- 
rao-ed world, tor sinkinti' to the deei>est deep, and wallowinji; 
in the tilthiest tiltli of ]>olitieal tnrpitnde. 

Colonel Burr was now in several pet»ple's way, and meas- 
nr»>s were \o be ado[)ted to get liim ont of the way. 

AVhile a party is in opposition, any l)ody who can help is 
weleome, and, if possible, rewarded. Ibit wlien that party 
gets into power, and has all the great prizes to bestow ; when 
a l>arty nomination is eqiiivalent to election ; and when, above 
all, no mail's help is felt to be neoessari/ ; the claims of the 
leailing parti/.aus are apt to be more closely scrutinized, and 
the force hitherto expended in secnring trinmph for the party, 
is devoted to gaining supremacy for the cliqiu^ ! 

Colonel Knrr was not the man that Thomas .lotferson and 
the Virginia }>oliticians wanted to be the next democratic 
President. James Madison, then Secretary of State, and a 
man of immense family interest in Virginia, was the prciles- 
tined candidate of the sonthern lve}>nblicans. Madison was 
Jerterson's neighbor, friend, anl disci})le. In New York, the 
Keiniblican party, composed of three factions — Clintons, Liv- 
ingstons, and Bnrrites — bad been kept togetber by CoU)jw»l 
Bnrr's masterly management while there was a Fedei-al party 
to be vanquished ; but now that the victory was won, the ele- 
meuts of discord so long latent, bnrst into vigorous life. The' 
Republican party of the State of Now York was n unit no 
longer. Each of the three tactions was jealous of the others, 
and aspired to sway the i>arty. Ibit, for the present, the Clin- 
tons and the Livingstons were disposed to unite their forces 
for the purpose of destroying Burr and his band of followers. 
Tims against our hero and bis " myrmidons," three great pow- 



CLOUDH G ATI! KB. .'JO? 

ers were «oon to be secretly or openly U*ague4 ; namely, fir»t, 
the Virginia [ioliticianK, one of whom wielded the patronage 
of the Federal government ; »e<iondly, the Crmton8, one of 
V'!; <">ov<jrnor of the State of Kew York, while young 

J>)<: .. , ^jinton wa« a mfnnhtix of the United States Senat<j ; 
an'^1. L-i'tly, the numeioMS and wealthy tkni'ily of the Living- 
r Eaxih of these lta4 darling objects, to the aXtamment 

of which Colonel I3urr'« preisent c^>mrnanding position and 
;,' ■ powers were the chief obi«tacle. 

Jj</ij:h v>U/iy tJui inte^rl/yperr^ wajn now the whimper that eirca- 
Jated arrx.n'/ t}<e magtmU-- of tlio riiiHv. b'^/th st Washington 
arid at . 

In the distribatjon of the "gpoils" of victory, many im[>ort- 
ant of Colonel Burr were passe^l by, while the raem- 
}v ' '.':-'♦■ ■^■*' • ' -:■ '■ ■ ^'^ ' ' '} with 

' lor Livingston w<.nt «mbatisa^Jor to France. B 

J- ton and Smith Thompson, whom wife wa« a Living' 

, were elevated to the bench of the State Supreme Court. 
' ■ Dr. T"' and General/ -, all con- 

;.....- .. .;, ..'iiage v,/.., ,.,:: -■-,,,,. family, v,-,,-, .,•-. provided 
for. George Clinton wa« 5:^ ,/, De Witt Clinton was in 

t. <; - it'?. A large proportion of the minor city office* were 
given to CJintonian*. The Federal offices, too, were b<f;«towe4 

'■ ' , , . . •-' «' • ■.,_, r)f e.v' ■ ■" -_/■ the 

... . ->.;>i John , ...v.. .v/OUt, 

V their seats, aft^^r a botlyHf/>n- 

teisted ele<*tion, aj« director* of the Maoliattan Bank ; and the 

; . ' e and power of that institution were u«ed against the 

f.'.;i:. ■ 'y fiom it owe' ' ce. 

It '.o;i be/r?;"'- "' ,; . ..,iit the AmyijTux/n Citizen, the 

organ of the It ^ j/arty in the city, owned by a <^jousin 

of De \'ir''itt Clinton's, wa*s conduct^id wholly in the interest of 

:an. It wa« ifWUi'i by a scurrilous dog of an En- 

;■ wacA <" ' ' - ' • ■"■ : ' , and 

:-- mu';;. . • 'vn 

Jra. T .r 

iriv-:';t;v<;, and, notlthi'j; j>l';ased him better tlian to mak« a 



JIDH 



I, I II' ii; o v A A It () N II II II n. 



Nt'l iillMck on Hoint> |iiilili(<, cliMiJictrr, in w Iiiil, \\r Hii|t|)()H(Ml to 
bollio iimiincr of .1 iiiiiiiM, I liitiiilion, loo, liail mm (ti'i;'!Mi, tlio 
jiovvly-t^stiililiMluMl Hi'i'nlnii I\)h(^ ('(liicd hy Williuiii Ooloiimn, 
ft IllWycr, M ;,';iiii(l wiiirr, :iimI :i ;voiiI li'iii.'lil. 

Ill lli«*M() ("irtMiiiiNlMiifcN, Ili(< IriciMlH <»!' Iliirr, in llic HUinnipr 
of I H(»'J, MSNisI ('(I to <vit;ilili.'ili llic !\lonii)iif ( 7ir(>/u'('/t\ \\\urh 
supported I ho Mdininislniiioii, ImiI wmh csptHvliilly I'riciidly to tlio 
Vi«M>. rr(«Mi(l(uit, Tliis Moi'iiiiiii r'Aro^/A'/fi 0(>fiH(Ml, loiij^' ii^'o, to 
(*xiMl, Itiit its ii.'inu', lliidii!',ii .'I linppy Mrcidonl, will he iciiicm- 
li(»i(>il lor iiiaiiy gi'iH^rntittilN to tioinc. It \v;ts edited by Dr. 
Peter Irviii!',, !ind, in its eolninnH, n, yoiiii!>(>r hrother of llie 
•editor, W AsiiiNtiroN IicviNd, lirst Mpp(>!i.ri>d iiH :i writer for (he 
piiblie. IMr. IrvinjA' wms n, youth of nineleeii \vlu>n (lolonel 
llurr used to cnl out Ihm ,/i»uif/i(t/i <>/(fsfi//i< i^nmyH iVoiii the 
C/iront'ofr', Mild ineloMe llicin in liiw letters to 'rheothisiii, with 
Ihe remiirk'thiit. Ihey were very j^'ood I'or ho youiiy" a num. 
lliMVMH lortuniitti in hiiviiisjf wueh \i eonlriluitor, lliit Murr 
ii(>e(h'd n lii^hliny iH»wspnp(>v, l>r. Irvin;*,', in (MuitendiiiL!; with 
Nueh !i fellow' us Clht^elhiiin, liihored under the erushinuj disiul- 
\'nut!iij;'(» of Iteiiij^ 11 jufenllemiiii :\nd ;t sehol;ir." 

Thus the wtvipons of WMiliire were pri'pnred. (\)loiiel I'.urr 
Noon y'MVi> th>!.;,' ('heeth.'im mii opportunity to howl (he Mhirni. 

On his w !iy to the sentof <,';overnm(>nl., in tlu» juituiuu of 
ISO), to take his seal in tlu^ ohw'w of the Senate, lln^ Vieo- 
Prt>sid(>nt. reeeived iVoni eerlnin eiti'/ens of Haltiinoit' (uit> of 
those Mtluhitory addresses ol' whieh Mr, Adams was so fond, 
«ud whieh it had I>(>(mi a speeiaMy of Ihc^ K.(>puhliean parly to 
(h'uouuee and ridi<Mile. To this a(hlr(*ss (\t|ouel IJiirr ro- 
Hptuuled thus: ''1Mine will not allow in(« to return a written 
answer, lull I must he pcnuiKcd to stale inv disappioli;ilioii 
ol th(> mode o{' e\prt>ssiiis;' puhlio sentiuuMit by addresses." 
This answer was in tlu> sli'iel(>st aeeiu'danee with llu* Ivepub- 
liean feeliuo' ol' the liiiu>. Ibit it was needlessly abrupt, and 
jJi'ave olVens(> to many. It savoretl of b\'«bM'aI hauehtiness, 
tliouy;ht some, and was unbeeomiujj,' a. publie servant. I '.-at 
this was a trille. 

Tlu> ;>T(<at measure^ of the session was the repeal of a judi- 
oiary bill, w hii'li passed at (he eh)So of (he l.ast (\)ni;i'ess, by 



which the rmuihar of Fo^lera] vt'}'/".^ va» maUffutfiA hy twtifity' 
\,\>rcM. Tliw bill ha4 Ihj«« , \fy a j^arty v*/t<^, i\tn llo^ 

]/uhlUsan» i(oui(^ ajjainst it in a body. iJut, what ma/l<j it 
Ir.';x / o'Jiorw to thf; r»*;W a' and U} tho 

f- .... party, v,"-. "• - r- -- •■ t r..£ ;vj^^ 

, in th^; V';rV !;; ■, ^ ,'/':fJ 

the TK^w jf4dg<; ':?te were the "rn, app//h. * 

of' which Mr. .ifMc.rnon m wrathfuJly »pok4j jw a lett^jr f/f^ 

and ; a* thfe 

* tWfmiy'throAi k ^ '>■ 

, (r(fin the h»r(Uwou ">»j;oil«?' </f 
y i<jtf>ry y 'J tUrc^ mch oiVu-A^n^ nkillfuUy ht^PfWcA^ were 

a ren^rrve of ^jitin^hl capital that would n\if'i'u'A^, alone, t/^ turn 

'^ , -..'J 

'■• ' ■ '-■• g the _. ■. ...;..; 

dotje, bat orily afU-r h nod (A'axt^hm^ »ful H4srif(H/tt'ioa» 

'! ^'' , Vk'/;-I' ,y tiuf utter iinpAf' 



hiui to jrive a caAtinjr vote. On a motion to r^yfer the bid t/> a 

",4i for lefjt, t}»^ vote wa» //. ., 

/ cacrali*t* Jit vo.^iwg th« reference, li^fc v w;e-l'/e^wient 

^ 1 tan for tiie alfirrnatJve, becaos^e J rKfV(^ ^^^.n rf;^;-'. the 
rei'uretK^ (A' a rneaHrire where the H^msita in *o ,, 

and when tJie obje<A j» to efJV^.'t arr. nay a/y;//«i- 



app^^r that 4i;Jay only j.». ;'J, my 

enf..-' 
T , 



erat^ men of aU parties i»aw in it :. :/e of ari 



310 L 1 F K F A A It O N 1? U li U . 

obvious duty. As it ImppoiuHl, liowovor, the voto luid no re- 
sults, lor tho arrival of a Senator, a day or Iwo aller, restored 
the Uepublieau majority, and the bill was taken out of com- 
mittee forllnvilh. 

At other sta!;es oC the bill, the Viee-President's eourse was 
severely ilisappointiuu" to the Federalists. On this point wo 
have tho uneipialed autlu>rit.y of Gou\ eneur Alorris, who, as 
a Federal Senator, tbuuhi ibr the preservation of t lie judg'e- 
shi|)s with all the energy of honest ynd disinterested eonvio- 
ti(>u. lie believed the nation would bo disii'raeed by defu'iv- 
ing- uuMi oC olliees whii-h the Constitution j^ave them for lite, 
and whieh they had aeeepted on that condition. tJouveneur 
Morris, when all was over, wrote thus to his friend, Chaneellor 
]iivin!i,ston : "There was a moment when the ^'ice-l^•esident 
mii;ht have arrested the measure by his vote, and that vote 
would, I believe, ha\e nuulo him I'resident at tlie next elec- 
tion ; but 'there is a tide in the alVairs of men,' whieh he sut- 
lered to go by." 

This resei've of power on tbe part of Colonel Jbirr was the 
more creditable to him fron\ the fact that ho was lather op- 
poseil to the re}>eal than otherw ise. It i;s evident trom his 
correspondence at the time, that he made the h'</a/ity of the 
repeal a special subject o( investigation, and, according to his 
wont, of' eA)nsultation with tlu> eminent lawyers of his ac- 
(piaintanee. To Uarnabas l>id\vell, he writes: "Tho poiocr 
thus to depri\e judges of their olliees and salaries must be ad- 
mitted ; but whether it would be i'Oii,^(i(utio/H(/i'i/ mora/, if I 
may use the exi>ression, and, if so, whether it would he poliiio 
and expedient, are questions on which I could wish to be 
further advised. Your opinion on these points would be par- 
ticularly acceptable." 

To his son-in-law he expresses the same doubts, and adds 
'' Read the Constitution, and having informed yourself of the 
out-ofdoor talk, write me how you view the thing." 3Ir. A. 
.]. Dallas of rennsylvauia, a zealous and able l")emoi'rat, gave 
the \ ice-l*resident a decided opinion .against the rejuvd of the 
bill, anil in favor of ameuiling it. JelVerson, it appears, took 
about the same view of the repeal as Burr, and, ;is the Vice- 



CLOUDS a AT II EE. 311 

IVcsidcnt forbore to flofcat it by his casting vote, the Presi- 
dent refrained from killing it by his veto. 

Ijeforg Cheethara had done ringing the ohanges on the 
Vice-President's alleged inconsistency on the judiciary bill, 
Ctjlonel J>urr gave him another subject upon which to exercise 
his talents. 

A certain John Wood, of New York, toward the close of 
the year 1801, sent to press a voluminous pamphlet, entitled, 
" A Ilistoi-y of the Administration of John Adams." Stupid- 
ity, Ignoiance, and Falsehood combined their several powers 
in the production of this indigested mass of tedious lies. It 
was a sort of " campaign life" reversed ; that is, instead of 
being all puff, it was all slander or misrepresentation. One 
sentence from this precious work will suffice to give the reader 
an idea of its character, and of the (jood it was likely to do to 
the Republican cause. After berating John Adams for many 
a weary page, Mr. Wood proceeded to inquire why it was 
that Connecticut should have been so persistent and unani 
mous in support of such a rrxadrnan. This, he says, naturally 
excites our wonder and astonishment. " liut the surprise ol 
the reader will vanish when he is informed that in no j^art of 
the world the bigotry of priesthood reigns so trium]>hunt, and 
that the dark shades of superstition nowhere cloud the un- 
derstanding of man in such a degree, as among tiie unhappy 
natives of Connecticut." 

The volume contained labored eulogies of .Jefferson and 
Burr. The puff of the Vice-]*resident C(jncluded with these 
words : "It is impossible to draw a character of Colonel Burr 
in more applicable and expressive terms than Governor Liv- 
ingston has done of his father : 'Though a person of a slender 
and delicate make, to encounter fatigue he hfw a heart of steel ; 
and for the dispatch of business, the most amazing talents 
joined to a constancy of mind that insures success in spite of 
every obstacle. As long' as an enterprise appears not abso- 
lutely impossible, he knows no discouragement, but, in pro- 
portion to its difficulty, augments his diligence ; and by an in- 
lyuperable fortitude, frequently accomplishes what his friends 
and acquaintances conceived utterly impracticable.' " 



',U'2 ^.\V K O V A A U O N H U U* K . 

Oolouol l>un- vo:\i\ (his work in tlii' shoots, lie s;v\v :it. om> 
H'laiioo (l>:it its puMifMiion *vouM (h* tlio Kopiiblii'Mii jtarty 
liarm ins(o;ul of ;;oiul ; pMrtiouhuly in Now Mn^lniul, \\ iu rt\ 
Mo Wiis mi>sl «>!' mII sohoitoiis (o j4;:iiu ;ulhorouts. Wo ln'oaii, 
by this tinu\ to uiuKMst;»inl th.il his tuturo, as a juiHtioiau, 
iiojioiulod Ilium tho l\i>|iiil)lio;\n [Kirty\s gainiiiu^ suoh an in- 
oroaso of stroMgih in Now Kn^laiiil as to oouutorbahinco tho 
uinluo inlluoiu'o ot" Niruinia. With liis usual promptnoss, but 
luH. witli iiis usual o(MU|)lo(onoss t)t' vsuoooss, ho attomptod to 
suppross tho hook. Twolvo liumlrod ami liiVy oopios \\-m\ boon 
iniiitiHl. Ho au'i'ooil with author nwd puhHshor to pay a oor- 
tain suiii, on oomlitiou that tho wholo oditliMi shouKl bo 
buniotl and tho soorot kopt. liol'oro tho bavijain was oonsum- 
luatod, howoviT, it was asoortainod thai inl'orniation of (ho no- 
gotiatiou had boon ijiviMi to Dnaiio, oi" (ho l*hil;ulol|thia Au- 
rot'<t, ixud to our t^hootham, i>t"(ho Now Vork (.'/Vovi, and that 
oortain oopios had boon handod about. As ono ot" (ho pub- 
lishors ol" tho book had biH>n tutor in t,u>noral nan»illon\s tniu- 
ily, it may bo (ha( in (bis alVair llauiilion vopaiil Ibirr, in kind, 
for his manonvors in 180i).'* l>o that as it may. Burr rol'used 
to j>ay tor tho oilition, and h't tlio niattor tako its oourso. 

(.""hoothain, iirst by hints and immon<U>os, tl\on by broad and 
roitoiatod assortion, assailod tho \"ioo-l*rosidont, n\aintainini> 
ll\at ho had atton\ptotl to su[>pi"<>ss tho book j'or the antko of 
iihi(hli>uj liia iitw jh'tJiifity f/w /'l'(/tV"a//.N7.\", tVoin tho Just odium 
whioh its yonocal oirouh(ti(Mi wovdd liavo oxoitod. lloro was 
anothor proof, said (.''iiootham, it' othor pr<H>t'woro noodod, of 
tho laitbU^ssnoss of tho Vloo-l*rosidont to liis party, oto., oto. 
Ibvano, o[' (ho nu>ro dooont v.l»ri)nr, Joinoil at last in tho ory, 
tlumii'h, at tho timo, ho had approvod ol' tho supprossion, as a 
U*ttor o\' his to Colonol Ibirr still shows. His lottor, datod 
April lo, says it \\'.\>i jorfttnatt' Wood's pamphlot liad not ap- 
poarod, and it would bo still more tortunato if it should novor 
appoar. His papor ol' July l-th oxprossos (ho »>}>iniv>n that it' 
tho motivos t'or tho supprossion oC tho book w oro not satist'ao- 

* Urtmilton litut uo objoctiou to « pnblieatioi\ winch toudod to justity liis 
own opjH>jiitiv>u to Adjmis, Whoii, soou jvt\oi\ W'vhhI i;vt. into prison tor liobt,* 
no was ivloasod by Oolonuvu, iho editor of llaiuiUou's orgjiu 



CLOUD 8 <i A •/ n lii:. '''\'i 

torily <:x])hi]f\cA to tho public, CJolorif;! IJiirr'H Htariflinj^ with 
tho ItcjjiiMican intorcnt was gono. 

No explanation at all wah voucfiHafofi to a credulous public. 
BujT was careless of public opinion to a remarkable decree, 
and he was full of that prido, ho cotnuum in his day, which 
disdains to notice n';WHpaper comment, or any othru- foirn of 
popular clamor, (Jne of the maximn which he used to recom- 
mend to his protcf^es was, never to apolo^^ize for or explain 
away a public action which might he di.sapproved, but let its 
results speak. Once, after reproving his daughter for some 
slight neglect, he adds, "No ajiologies or exj;lanations — I 
hate them." Alluding to one of (Jheetham's lies, he wrote to 
Theodohia: "'I'liey are so utterly lont on me that I sliould 
never have seen even this, but, lliaf, it came inclosed to me in 
a letter from New York," In another letter he speaks of 
"some new and amusing libels against the Vice-President," 
which lie had thought of sending her. This is, doubtless, the 
right temper for a man who has no favors to ask of the public ; 
but to one whose career in life aF>solutely depends upon the 
multitude's sweet voices, it will certaifily, sooner or later, 
prove fatal, liesides, it was only this summer that Dr. Jrving 
had got his Morninf/ (llixonink fairly under way, and by that 
time Ch(;etham's calumnies had struck in past eradication. 

Jiut these were only preliminary scandals. The main at- 
tack was to c^^rne, J>(;fore proceeding to that, however, let 
us Bee what new gorgons the Yice-I 'resident's conduct wan 
conjuring up in the morbid mind of Hamilton. 

'I'Jie celebration of Washington's birth-day was then more a 
party than a national custom, and one which the Federalists 
were not likely to neglect in the first year of a Kepi>blican 
administration. The Usual banquet was held at Washington. 
A 'ii',vi days after, the rumor circulated in New York that the 
Yic';- President had actually been present at that festival, and 
given a toast. " We are told here," wrote Ifamilton to iiay- 
ard, "that at the close of your biith-day feast, a strange a/>- 
parilion^ which was taken for the Vice-i'residerjt, ajjpeared 
2iiri<)U(r you, and toasted 'the union of all honest men.' I 
often fiear at tlie corner of the streets imj^ortant Federal my 

H 



814 LIFE OP AARON BURK. 

crets of whicli I am ignorant. This may be one. If the 
story is true, 'tis a good thing if we use it well. As an in- 
strument^ the person will be an auxiliary of some value ; as a 
chief, he will disgrace and destroy the party. I suspect, how- 
ever, the folly of the mass will make him the latter, and from 
the moment it shall appear that this is the plan, it may be de- 
pended upon, much more will be lost than gained. I know 
of no important character who has a \e'S,% foimcled interest than 
the man in question. His talents may do well enough for a 
particular plot, but they are ill-suited for a great and wise 
drama. But what has wisdom to do with weak men ?" 

That remark about Burr's talents being bettor adapted to a 
particular plot, than to a " great and wise drama," is one of the 
truest ever made by Hamilton of his antagonist. 

To Gouveneur Morris, Hamilton writes in a similar strain. 
Ho fears that some 7}eio intrigue is hatching between Burr and 
the Federalists. If not, what meant the " a])parition '?" He 
adds, that if Burr should form a third party, " we may think 
It worth while to purchase him with his flying squadrons.^- 
Hamilton's main idea was : Let us use Burr as a means oi out 
elevation, not let him use us as a means of his own. 

It was again the sensible Mr. Bayard's privilege to allay 
Hamilton's apprehensions. In reply to the latter's " appari- 
tion" letter, he wrote as follows : " The apprehensions you 
appear to entertain of the eiFect of the intrigues of a certain 
person, if you will take my word for it, are wholly without 
ground. In lact, little has been attempted and nothing ac- 
complished. I answer only for the time present, because I 
believe the gentleman is waiting to see the result of the new 
state of things more completely developed before he decides 
upon the coui-se he will pursue. The apparition in the after 
piece was not unexpected, but the toast was. 

"An intimation was given that, if he was sensible of no 
impropriety in being our guest upon the occasion, his com- 
pany would be very acceptable ; our calculation was that he 
bad less chance of gaining than losing by accepting the invi- 
tation. We knew the impression xchich the coincidence of cir- 
cumstances loould make on a cevtain great personage, how 



CLOUDS GATUEE. 316 

readily that impression would be communicated to the proud 
and aspiring loi'ds of the ancient dominion, and we liave not 
been mistaken as to the jealousy we expected it would excite 
through the party. 

" Be assured, the apparition was much less frightful to those 
who saw it than to many who heard of the place where it ap- 
peared. The toast was indiscreet, and extremely well calcu- 
lated to answer oiu- views. It will not be an easy task to im- 
pose upon the Federalists here, united and communicative as 
they are at present; and you may rely, that no eagerness to 
recover lost power will betray them into any doctrines or cora- 
pi'omises repugnant or dangerous to their former principles. 
We shall probably pay more attention to public opinion than 
we have hitherto done, and take more pains not merely to do 
right things, but to do them in an acceptable manner." 

That such a pother should arise from a Vice-President of 
the United States attending a banquet in honor of George 
Washington, gives the modern reader an idea of the reality 
of the political differences of that day, which we can the bet- 
ter understand from the fact, that such differences are again 
becoming real. Colonel Burr had a reason for attending this 
banquet of a personal kind. The Federal members of the 
House who gave the banquet, and who invited the Vice-Pres- 
ident to attend it, were the very men who, a year ago, had 
sat a week trying to make him President. Who was the in- 
triguer in this business, Bayard or Burr ? 

Ilaraikon's rejoinder to Bayard, is one of the most charac- 
teristic epistles he ever wrote. It is eminently amiable and 
absurd, lie says that Bayard's explanation has allayed his 
fear. He then proceeds to divulge an elaborate plan for bring 
ing the country back again to its former Federal principles. 
We must change our tactics, he begins. We have relied 
too much upon the mere .excellence of our measures. Men 
are reasoning, but not reasonable creatures. While we have 
appealed solely to the reason, our opponents have flattered the 
vanity of the people, and the consequence is we are prostrate, 
and they are triumphant^ We must be more politic, my dear 
sir. Nothing wrong must be done, of course ; but we must 



y J G L I P E O F A A U O N IJ U U K . 

meet art with art, iiiul delbat tric^k Aviili trick ; tliat is, as far 
ns we I'un do so innoeently. Alter a iirolooue of this de- 
eri|i(it>n, eonies the l>lav. He sui><»ests tlie liniuatioii of a 
''Cluistian C\)nsti(ii(ioiial Society," with a presi(k'nt aiul coim- 
eil of t\\elvi> at Washington, a viee-presideul and sub-eouueil 
of twelve in tnieh State, and as nuuiy loeal branches as may be 
necessary. The object oi' this orand association was to be, 
ostensibly, fnst, thl^ snpjiort ot"thc (.Mu'istjan religiitn ; sec- 
ondly, the su|>port ol" the C'onstitntion of the United States. 
The n'(»/ object, of conrse, was to tnrn ont the vnlgar, odious 
"Jacobins,'' and raise to power once more the virtuous and 
polite Federalists. This was to be done by dilVusin>;' informa- 
tion, by i^etting good n\en elected to ollice, and by promoting 
charitable institutions, particularly in cities. As a proof Itow 
much the cities needed lookiu;; afli'r, Hamilton revives the 
story of the yi)/c>^ whidt was saiil to have been fornied, duiing 
the pnvsidential suspense oi' t80l, to seize and "■cut otf" the 
Icailing Federalists. 

This reads very much like imbecility. One Mould have 
su]>j»osed tlie Federalists had had enough of secret societies, 
in their early experiences with regard to the Cincinnati. A)id 
how llainilton had denounced the American imitations of the 
French . I aeobin clubs ! Jiayard set him right once more, by 
telling him decidedly that his Club seluMue would not do. 
l.ci us wait, said Jiayartl, and the enemy will soon show the 
country that we are the party to give it prosperity. 

The eom»try, meanwhile, was obstinately prosperaus, and 
uureasonablv v>eacct"id, auil nuullv eonlident ot' the abilitv and 
patriotism of the administration. But tl»ere was a gleam of 
hope tor the Feileralists still. In the summer y>[' 180"-', a runxor 
Avas tlying about an\ong them that tliere was division in the 
enemy's camp ; the Fresident and Vice-Fresident had quar- 
reled ! In June, Hamilton writes a iloletid letter to Kutiis 
King about atVairs pv>litical, which thus concludes: 

"There is, however, a circumstance which may accelerate 
the tall of the present party. There is certainly a most serious 
ischism between the chief and his heir-ap[>arent ; a schism 
absolutely incurable, because founded m the hearts oi' both, in 



C(. Of'OH OATH KB. Dl? 

tJio rivalnhip of an iriHatinblo and iinprinciplrfr] arnVjltlon. Tho 
off'rrctH uro alr<;a'Jy apf;ar<;nt, an'l arc ripcnirj;^ into a rnorc f^it- 
t«;r anirrioHity Ixttwitcu tht; parti/arm of the two mon than ever 
exiHfX'd hatwcan the FederalJHtM and anti-FcdcraliHtH, 

" (jnhiokily, we are not sm neutral to this quarrel as we 
oii;^ht to be. You saw, }iow';ver, how far our fiiendH in Con- 
^resH went in pollutinj^ theruHelveH with the support of the 
Keeond persona^^e for the prewideney. The cabal did not ter- 
minate there. Several wen, of no ineonHiderable irnportanwi 
among u«, like the entt'-rprihiing and adventurous character of 
thin man, and hope to Koar with him into power. Many more, 
tf)rou;^h hatred to tfie chief, and through an impatience to re- 
cover the reinH, are linking themselveH to the new chief almost 
without perceiving it, and professing to have no other object 
tlian to make use of him ; while he knows that he is making 
use of them. What this may end in, it is difficult to per- 
(;eive," 

The truth about all this is now sufficiently apparent. The 
JVeside-nt and Vice-President were on about the same terms 
as before, Colorjel Burr dined at the White House twice a 
month, and with the members of the cabinet about onc<J a 
year, iJetween liirnself and Mr, Madison thei-e was an ap- 
f;earance of friendliness, and a growing reality of reserve. 
1'heodosia and the beautiful Mrs, Madison seem to have been 
on terms of considerable intimacy. But Jeff'erson, partly for 
personal, chiefly for patriotic reasons, wished the Virginia 
politicians to continue the democratic rule. It was apparent 
to Burr that their political projects wo-re irrt^mpatible, and he 
began to look, more and more, to the northern States for sup- 
j)ort, knowing that nothing but the ijnpossibility of carrying 
an election without him would secure him the support of the 
Virginians, The two chiefs wcra, therefore, at cross purposes, 
so far as party management was concerned ; and there Is no 
question that Jeffe-rson now felt that repugnance to iiurr 
which their uncongenial nature's must, in almost any circum/" 
stances, have generated. But they never quarreled, Down 
to Jiurr's la«t visit to Philadelphia, in 1806, he called on and 
dined with the President quite as usual. Burr, it mu>;t be 



318 LIFE OFAARON BURR. 

remembered, could not be, like Madison or Monroe, a satellite. 
ITis aim was to be an independent ])ower in politics. 

To return to Cheetliam. Continuing bis attack on tbe 
Vice-President, be brougbt out his most damaging accusation, 
which was, tliat Colonel Burr, during tbe tie period, had in- 
trigued for electoi-al votes, with the design to defVaud Jeffer- 
son of the presidency. Tiie charge was made with staggering 
positiveness, and desperate pertinacity. This scandal was 
Cbeetbam's master-piece, and the public mind, by his previous 
efforts, tliongh not convinced, had become prepared to receive 
it. The better to effect his purpose, he wrote a series of 
" Nine Letters," in whicli be professed to give a history of 
Colonel ])urr's political life, but every page of which showed 
the man's ignorance of the subject upon which he was writing. 
These letters were afterward published in a pamphlet, which 
became, for awhile, the town-talk, and had a considerable cir- 
culation at all the political centers. 

For the purpose of showing tbe caliber and style of 
Cheetham, and his slight acquaintance with the political his- 
tory of the times, I will copy a passage from bis fifth epistle, 
which is in his very best Junuis style. It contains just that 
mixture of truth and falsehood which marks the productions 
of unscrupulous scribes, who are hired to clothe with words 
the ideas of their masters. Cheetham was a boy of seventeen 
Avhen Colonel Burr began his political life. He was just of age 
Avhen Burr went to the Senate, and was never in a position to 
have any ]iersonal knowledge of interior politics. 

Thus Cheetham, in his fifth epistle : " Your activity," said 
this Junius Amcricanus, addressing the Vice-President, " was 
uniformly apportioned to your selfishness. You were never 
active but when you had personal flxvors to expect. At the 
election for governor, in 1792, after the Federalists refused to 
accept you as their candidate, you were not to bo seen, and 
scarcely to be heard of In 1795, when the Republicans made 
choice of Judge Yates in preference to yourself, you retired in 
dudgeon, and neither moved your lips nor lifted your pen in 
f:\vor of bis election. In 179G, you rendered no assistance to 
tbe Republicans at tbe election for Assembly-men. In 1797, 



CIvOUDS GATIIKU 319 

you manifestccl some concern for, and contributed your mite 
to the success ofj the RepubUcan ticket ; but let it be remem- 
bered that you were that year a candidate for the Assembly ! 
In 1798, the darkest period the Union has seen since the Rev- 
olution, you neither appeared at the Republican meetings nor 
at the polls, you neither planned m the cabinet nor acted in 
the field. If you were then eloquent, it was the eloquence of 
the grave. At that portentous j)eriod, when the greatest ex- 
ertions were made necessary, you manifested none. In 1799 
you were still in your shell ; you were neither seen at the 
Ward assemblies nor on the election ground. But in 1800 
you Avere all activity and zeal. Eveiy ligament of your frame 
was brought into action. You devoted night and day to the 
success of the Republican ticket. You attended all our meet- 
ings, and harangued the assembled citizens at most. You 
even stood at the polls and challenged voters. All this was 
admired, since, without looking at the motive, it was service- 
able. We give you full credit for your zeal and activity on 
the occasion, especially as it was the first time you exhibited 
either. But even here you were the same man. You were 
peculiarly interested in the success of the election. You 
knew that you would be a candidate for the Vice-Presidency, 
and you, with the country at large, were of opinion that the 
success of the presidential election depended principally on 
our triumph in that of our city. You had made nice calcula- 
tions on this subject, and very clearly foresaw the necessity 
for herculean exertions. Accordingly, you were all anima- 
tion. You were first at the meeting, first at the polls. While 
our citizens applauded your conduct, they were ignorant of 
your motives ; they knew little of your real character ; it had 
been carefully enveloped in mystery. Like theirs, they fondly 
imagined that yotor zeal and industry were the effect of pure 
and disinterested patriotism, Alas ! sir, they knew you not. 

And so on, from the beginning to the end of the nine let 
ters. 

Cheetham's main charge may be divided into two counts ; 
fii-st, that Colonel Burr intrigued for Federal votes ; secondly, 
that he intiigued for Republican votes. Thau the first count, 



8'20 1,1 1' li", o II' v A ic ON i:ii i; ic. 

iu> noousaiioii luntlc ;ijAiiiuN(. :i |>oIili('i;iM \v:is (>vor no NltMulorly 
Mipportod 1»Y »>vi»liMU'o, or roluti'il 1>\ (>\ idiMU'o so vnrioiiM, so 
\nu»q\nvo(';il, so Invislily sii|U'rlluo\is in (|ii;\n(i(y. In tlu> 
00iM"s«' ol' llu> (lisvMissioii \vl\i«"li ,'iroso, ovory |iorsi)n who iUtii/d 
\\i\\o lu'iMi oi>in'«'rno*l in Iho :iIl«'j':tMl in(riu,uo Imut's inlimalo 
IVioiuls, tho Io!»tlin_i;- I'Vdcr.'ilisis, nuMuhors ol' Ihc llonsi' who 
hold o|>tion;\I votos dt'iiii'd in li'nns |)osi(ivo nml uiuM|uiv- 
Oonl. in (li(> pnhlit' |>ro,ss nnd o\cv (Ikmv own sii«"n:itni( s, tl\Ml 
(h(\v h:i«l (MtluM- t:»k»Mi pMil in. or h:nl :n\y knowlodjjto (»t', any 
inlii'VUo or liinvain botui^n I'oloiu^l Immt :nnl (h»> T'odoriiHsts, 
or l>«'t wi'on tht> iVitMids of (.'olonol l>urr :in»l (ho l<'odor:ilists, 
during tho juMiod rol'orrod (o, or .•»(■ ;iiiy limo priH'Otlins;- it. 

David A. (>",d(Mi w;»s aoousovl »U' hin iujj Ium-u mh :i<v<'"t ol 
Iho nogoli.Mtion. In I ho .Ifornhu/ C/nvuMiS ol' N'ovomhor 
•J.Mh. ISO'J, IMr. OgtU^i sMid : " Whon .Mhont lo nMnni from 
i\w oily of \V.Mshin!<-toii, (wv> or lhro«^ in«>mlH>rs oi' V.\>n<i,r«'ss, 
ol' Iho h'odtM'.'il |>Mrly, spoko to mo abv>ut ihoir vvow's as to tho 
olootitMi of rrosidont, ih^slring n\o to oonvorso with (\4ouol 
IhuT on (ho suhjoot, nnd lo ;(sv't*rl;nn whi>thiM' ho \\(>uld oiiUm" 
into tonns. (,)n my rolurn lo Now York 1 oallod on C\>K>iiol 
Ihirr, ;\nd oonnnnnio;>li>d iho :d)i>vo to him. llo oxjihoitly 
dooHnod llio o\j>I;m;iru>n. ;ind i\u\ noilhor j>rojH>so nor agroo 
lo any torms. I had no t>lhor inUM'viow or oommunio:»tiou 
with him ow ihv' suhjool ; ;md sv> HtlK^ Wiis I salisfuHl willi thivS, 
that in :» U'Uor whiv'h I soon :il\orward wnUo lo :i momhor ot' 
Congross, auvl whiv'h was tho only ono I wroto, I dissn:idod 
hin\ IrvMii giving his snp|HMi. [o t\>h>nol Uurr, and advisod 
vathor to aoviniosoo in tho olootion of Mr. .lolVorson, a^s (ho loss 
clangorvms m:m ol" (ho i\\(\" 

l"'.dw!\rd Livingston, .John Swartwoul. Willimn V. \'an "Noss 
IMalthow I.. Oavis, and vMhors, dool:uo»l tho innov'onoo ol" l>uri 
in langnago oqnally oxplioit. UamilliMi himst^lT publiol) 
avowod, in (ho hW^iui/ Poat^ (h;»i lio had no jiorsonal 
knowlodgo ol", or holiol" in. tho oxistonoo ol" :u\\ uc<xoU:\Uox\^ 
l>o(woon l\»lom^l Hnrr aiul llu^ momhors ol" tho Fodoral party 

IVlr. Uayard ot" nokvwnro, wlu> had boon in a position (o 
know moro ot' tho (io alVair (han any olhor m;m. and who h;»d 
tinally givon (ho oloo(ion to .lolVorsvm, ro-s(a(vHl all (hat had 



CLOUDH Q A J 11 i<: u. 321 

occurred in the mofit minute and circumstantial manner, in a 
formal aflidavit. " I took painn," tsaid Mr, Jiayard, " to din- 
close the state of things (in the Federal caucus) in such a 
manner that it might be known to the friends of Mr, Burr, 
and to those gentlemen who were believed to be most dis- 
posed to change their votes in his favor, I i-epeatedly stated 
to many gentlemen with whom I was acting, that it was a vain 
thing to protract the election, as it had become manifest that 
Mr. Burr would not assist us, and as we could do nothing 
without his aid, I expected, under those circumstances, if 
there was any latent engines at work in Mr, Burr's favor, the 
))lan of operations would be <lisclosed to me ; but, altfiough I 
liad the powei-, and threatened to terminate the election, I had 
ijot even an intimation i'votn any friend of Mr, Burr's that it 
would be desirable to them to protract it. I never did dis- 
cover that Mr, Burr used the least influence to promot(; the 
oljiject we had in view. And being comj)letely persuaded that 
Mr. Burr would not cooperate with us, I determined to end 
the contest by voting for Mr, Jeffei'son, * * * J |,ave 
no reason to believe, and never did think that he interfered, 
even to the point of personal influfiuce, to obstruct the elec- 
tion of Mr, Jefferson or to promote his own." 

On another occasion, Mr, iiayard deposed : " Early in the 
election it was reported that Mr. Edward Livingston, the 
iepresentative of the city of New York, was the confidential 
agent for Mr, Burr, and that Mr, B(jrr had committed him- 
self entirely to the discretion of Mr, Livirjgston, having agreed 
to adopt all his acts, I took an occasion to sound Mi-, Living- 
ston on the subject, and intimated that, having it my power 
to terminate the contest, I should do so, unless he could give 
me some assurance that we might calculate upon a change in 
the votes of some of the members of his party, Mr. Living- 
ston stated that he felt no great concern as to the event of the 
election, but he disclaimed any agency from Mr. Burr, or any 
connection with him on the subject, and any knowledge of 
Mr. Burr's designing to cooperate in support of his election." 

This volume would not contain the print<i<l matter which 
Cheetham's accusation called fortli, Mr, Van Xess wrote a 

14* 



322 LIFE OF AAKON BUEK. 

vigorous, nay a savage^ pamphlet in reply to Choetham, which 
added fuel to the flames of passion, but, probably, eftecteci 
little else. To argument, to vsolenm deposition, to circumstan- 
tial affidavit, Cheetham's too effectual response was an endless 
reiteration of the charge. For awhile. Colonel Burr main- 
tained his usual silence. Late in September, when the mean 
contest had been waging for several weeks, he was induced 
to Avrito a brief denial in a letter to his friend, Governor 
Bloomfield of New Jersey. " You arc at liberty," \\q said, 
*' to declare from me that all those charges and insinuations 
which aver or intimate that I advised or countenanced the 
opjiosilion made to Mr. Jefferson pending the late election 
and balloting for President ; that I proposed or agreed to any 
terms with the Federal party ; that I assented to be held up 
in opposition to him, or attempted to withdraw from him the 
vote or support of any man, whether in or out of Congress ; 
that all such assertions and intimations are filse and ground- 
less." 

With regard to Cheetham's second count, namely, that Burr 
intrigued for RepubUcan votes, a few words must be added. 
It is equally unsupported by evidence. It is, I am convinced, 
equally false. General Smith, of Maryland, who was Burr's 
proxy in the House, declared in the Eceidng Post^ while the 
controversy was in full tide : 

" Mr. Burr never visited me on the subject of the late elec- 
tion for President and Vice-President — Mr. Burr never con- 
versed with me a single second on the subject of that election, 
either before or since the event." 

Tl)at Burr himself was passive — that ho observed rigor- 
ously the morality and the etiquette of a situation novel and 
bewildering, is a fact which became apparent to me by read- 
ing the writings of his enemies, and will become apparent to 
any candid person who will take the same trouble. But it is 
true that John Swartwout, General Van Ness, and others of 
Burr's set, most ardently desired the elevation of their chief 
to the presidency. It is true that they believed he ought to 
be elected, rather than have no President. It is true, as John 
Swartwout, with his usnnl frankness publicly avowed, that 



CLOUDS GAT I^E R . 328 

they tliought it would not liavo been in the least dishonorable, 
if they /fac? promoted and secured his election. It {■si jy^'ohahly 
true, that, after several fruitless ballotings had spread abroad 
the impression that Jefferson could not be elected, both 
Swartwout and Van Ness wrote letters to Republican mem- 
bers of the House, urging them to give up Jefferson and elect 
Burr. Of this they were so far from being ashamed, that 
they gave permission to all their correspondents to publish 
any letters of theirs on public subjects, which had been 
written during the time it was alleged the intrigue had 
occurred. 

Readers who have reached the prime of life, can look back 
to the time when John Quincy Adams was elected President 
by the House of Representatives, through the casting vote of 
Henry Clay, Avho was immediately ap})ointed Secretary of 
State by the new President. They can remember how, during 
the next four years, the opposition press rang with the charge 
of "bargain and corruption." That charge, mean, and ground- 
less as it was, turned one of the two men out of the presi- 
dency, and ke2)t out the other, through twenty years of such 
■jiopularity as no other });u'tisau has ever enjoyed with the en- 
lightened portion of the American people. From that, we of 
tills generation may form an idea of the effect which Cheet- 
ham's accusation, taken up by other papers and ceaselessly re- 
peated, had upon the political fortunes of Aaron Burr. He 
had not the wealth of popularity to draw upon which gathered 
round Henry Clay's magniiicent form and generous, gallant 
heart; and if Clay's electric name was not proof against base 
and baseless scandal, is it wonderful that the luster of Burr's 
not untarnished fame should have been diminished by it be- 
yond remedy ? 

Bitter and deadly, beyond what the modern reader can 
imagine, were the political controversies of that period. The 
law of the pistol was in fall force. In 1801, Hamilton's eldest 
son, a high-spirited youth of twenty, fell in a duel which arose 
from a political dispute at the theater. " He was min-dered in 
a duel," said Coleman, of the Eoening Post, who that very 
month had threatened Chcetham with a challenge, and who, 



824 I, \ ic K» 



O l-> A A K O N li I K IJ. 



thouo\t dav svH>kt> ol' " (lu> insoloiU vul:;;»iitv .>r lli;U huso 
>vrt>to)»."* 

Tho ilurl l>i'(\\ oiMi John S\v;»rt\\iMit m\d Po Will (.'liiiUni, 
wluih ooonrvo»i nnx'xd tlu> hoat niul vIoKmioo of ISOiJ, was ilio 
most ron\arkal>lo ooiilUol ot"llu« kind whioh lias ovor ooouitihI, 
this siiK» (^r tho IvnioraUl ,lsU>. (.'linlon was a siron>;' lu>ailoil 
M\d l>inov-ton!4\ioil {H>lilioian. Swartwout wasa tVank hoarlo«l, 
bvavo man, doNiMoJ lo Imui- witli a ilisiutorosti'il cnihusiasm, 
tltat stv>vHl all iho tosts to whioh lVi<nulship oaii ovor bo snb- 
joi^ttnl. llo saw wilh Anions ilisgnst tho olVorts of l>o Wilt 
iMintou's oroaturos to Maokoti Hnrr's ropntatiiMi, and had hini- 
solt' <^\j>ononood tho olVoots ot" his l\oslililv. iMinton l>oarini>; 
that SwartwtMit l\ad aoonstnl hin\ ot\>pposino; linrr on v^nnuuls 
povjional attd soltish, oalUnl him "a liar, a soonudrol, and a vil- 
huu." This was lopiM'tovl to Swartwout, and a duol was iho 
rosnit. 

What ooounoil at tho ground at Woohawkon, was stalod in 
tho nowsjv^povs of" tho day \>y OoUn\ol Smith, Swart wont's 
sooond : '* Tho gomUnuou took thoir stations — w oro oaoh jmi^ 
sontod with a pistol, and, by ovdov, taood to tho rii;l\t, an^l 
tivod, inotVootually. At tho voquost of Mr. Ivikor, 1 askod Mr. 
Swartwout, ' Art* ymi satistiovi, sir?' Ho answorod, ' I am not.' 
Tho yustols tlion boing oxv'hangoil, auvl thoir pv^sitivuis rosumo»l, 
by oniov, tl\o gotitloinoii laood tv> tho right, i\\u\ tirod a sooond 
shot, without otVoot. At tho rotjuost of Mr. Kikor, I again 
avhlrossovl -Mr. Swartwout, ' .\ro you satistiod, sir?' llo an- 
sworod strongly in tho uogativo, wo proooodod, and a thirvi 
shot was oxohangovl, without injury. vVt tho rovjuost of .Mr. 
Hikov, I agaiu askod ^Ir. Swartwout, ' Aro you s.atistiod, sir?' 
llo tvnswoivd, vl am not— tioithor shall 1 bo, vmtil that apol- 
ogy is mado whioh 1 havo domandod. Until thon wo must 
prooood.' 1 thon prosontod a papor to Air. Kikor, oontaining 

^' lio o»\ Pui«\<\ 1J0 on tUr i>ay, 
Ao>J Ohic><>tha«x. Ho thou ^oo ; 

Mv\JV '^ not SAV, 

Tl; . -: vv»« " 



#; r, (f V. If H <) At u y. if. . '/,'ift 

t^i sil>(>U>(/y (i«.rfihfKU:'i, i'(>r Mr. (AthUtit •, 

that w<; couM r.'.* ml oiir i.iinh hi <■/,<,,•:,■..,.■..■,■., ^ 
yiiycr uiUh\,\>h , or prffCAnA. Mr. (lYmUfU d<;(;. 

wofiM uot M^u Huy \>A\)(ir <m thfe Hnhj(;(^ — that hi;htu\ii(} 
tmUfumhy aj^ain^t Mr, Hwartwont — wouUi / *hak^j 

hari^J« afi'l aj^r*;*: to "/;f»j ofioruK-.r iinuttlkUtp. 

"Mr, '- ' - /i. h'm ■'■■■ 're, i/f i)i(', apoIoj.fy, 

and ,Mr, ' '-.y *.tOh-- .'ir i>(/^iMAii'l UtcA 

a fourth s-hot. Mr, ('Airtiou^n )>n\\ Klrnck Mr, Hw^irtwonVn left 
h'.^, ahoHt i'tva iueUcn \k:Iow the kncAt; — he HUfoA rawly tuui 
ijt\U-i±hi\. At thft r('.f\tK',fit of Mr. ilikfrr, T h^hUi wMnx 'A 

Mr, H ■•-'■-, * ^^ , -^--' .7r?^ 1^. ^ ' ' .'. 

' It V, - , , , .,u — my i\ 

fixt-A — and X Urg w^; may \trh<'A'j'A.'' Mr, Cl'mUffi i ' 

tfiat h<; ha^l no Wiiuu/Aiy n^fMuni Mr. Hv/sxri^wont — wm ivjrry 
for what htif] ]>'^<n*A — proi><rH4'A U> ?; *hak<j hAfKh, ;;'.] 

hfjry '^ • ' - • '■ ■■ ■-,-,■ '•;•,^. j,< . '^ • .'ion, 

Mr, r '. .. '/ f,y r f?,., 

l/all from thft Of- 

ifi^ *,'r^'0't 0T» hw |;^;«f., and jj^^itivftly do^jlinin^ any thing siJiort 
of an arnph; ap fir*;d th<; fifth «h//t, and Mr. HwArU 

wout r«r^;^ji v<;fl trc: '/;,i ,,'1 • ' '■' ' ' '- ; ' . ' .. 

tUh and*:; >»ti)l, ho'Aov<;r, , . , ,., ,,,,:, ^, ., . 

fW^rtly ('/>ui]><Ah(\. At tf»*; rht^u(-'*x of ,Vfr, liikdff f aj/ain vl- 
'i. ':d Mr, Swartwout, * Aro you n^hftcAlf mrY' IJc Torahly 
aojtwfcrod, 'I arn not, «r; \}r(>('A'j'A.* Mr. ' . th<?n ' 

hw UtAUOIt^ (](■(:'' ^},(', ('/,U.'.' ' ' ' ■ ,, 

no morfj. ,'VIr. /'.■'' ' 

Mr, Clinton woitUl //a-. iu>f 

lion ri'A\umA ; and ^ m^;, ^^J» ' What *hall I d/?, rny 

frifrnd V \ ■■■■. - .VIr (xlinton 'i :./ th^s apol- 

Of'-' ■'■■'• ;;.r.'j JK. ■■■ 

'' ...'\ 'A.\>y: 

: in tho d . s thfirf'.h ; 

further Uift for yon nmn^ but t^;> hav<; your wmmd.% <lrf;m*A.* 
TJKf H att<;nd';d, drc-*<w;d Mr. .S'^artwout^x wouutU^ and 

lh« g<;ij!„';fn*m in thfeir T(^\>t^-iivt; f/ar^(fn*, retnrnt-A V> thti 



l\'2{i \.\ K K O K A A IvO N Ml' <; K 



An on dit of (ho ilny was. \\\M Clinton s!»i«l, «liivinji' (ho propj- 
ross i>r (ho «lnol, " I wish 1 h'.ul (ho /)W»«v/)(»/ horo," rotonini* 
to C\ilonol Uurr, 

'I'ho no\( yo;n\ Po Will Clinton was ohaUon^od hv S»Mi;i(or 
Jonathan Oaytv^n, ol'IS'OW Jorsoy, ai\o(hor oniuiT\s in(iin;»tos, 
bnt (l»o .MlVair was poacol'iiUy nrranji'Otl. 'Pho yoar lollowinj»\ 
Kv>l>oi'( vSwartwont loni;ht with l\iv'hai-<l KiUor, a /.i^ahnis C\\\\. 
tonian. who hail sorvod as sooon*i \o Clii\lon in l»ls thiol with 
John S\var(WvMU. In (his dnol, Kikor was si>\ iM'oly wonndoil, 
bnt ho looovorovl to sit lor ntany yoars on tho Kooonlor's 
honoh ill tho viiy o( Now York. Tho samo yoai", Colotnan of 
tho AWttuif/ J\>f>ty i>fovoko«.l boyoml onvlnranoo by* an at 
taok v>t' sni'nassit»!iMnalio-\tanoy in tho .l/^nv7o<»/* (Vi'/^fV/, for- 
got Inmsi'Il' so tar as to ohallonjio iMtoothant. Knt tho our 
oonl.l not bo bi^>nja.h( (o bay. " l'""ri<Mt»ls intortoroii/" a (ruoo 
was patolunl u\\ aiivl ChiHihani a_!;roo»l to bohavo bottor in 
luttuv, 

i>ut. vM tins atVair, howovor, anothor unan^'l iirow, whioh led 
tv^ »>no vW' tho most »liabolioal ilnols ovor lonjtht. (.\iptaiu 
ThontpsvMi, harbv>i-mas(ov ot' Now York, londly osponsod 
Choodtatn's oanso, an*! ii'avo ont (hat it was (.\iKMnan, not 
Choothant. (ha( ha»l shvuvoJ (ho w hi(o (onthor. C\>loinan hoard 
v>t*i(, and oltalloujiod hint. Tho (wiliirh( i>ra w'in(or\s ovoninjy 
tbund thoj>ar(ios array od ai;-aitjs( oaoli o(hor in lonoly " l.ovo- 
lano/* now oallod "TwoiK v-lir.st-s(roo(,'' It was ot4d, thoro 
was snow vmi (ho !.v<'*^^i>"d, anvi it was noarlv dark. A shot or 
(wv> was oxohangod widtotit otVtH't, anvl tlton tho prino|>als 
woro [>laood ttoaror (oijtMhor. (hat (hoy tnight sov> ono anodior 
bodor. .\( loniidt Thi>n\j^son was hoard (oory, '* Tvo uot i(," 
,»(ul loll hoadliMiii' ott (ho snow. Ooloman and his sooottd htu"- 
riod away, whilo tho surjyoon raisod tho bioodinji- man, oxant- 
inod his wound, an«l saw that it was n\ortal. On loarninji- his 
tnto, Thompsott, at tho survjvou's suijvvostiv>u, proiuisod never 
to divnljvt^ (l\o nat\)os of tho pardos, and, wi(h a horoism 
wordty ot'a bo((or oanso, ho kop( his word. " Ho was brv>Uijht, 
nu>rtallY wouudod, to his sistov's houso it» (own : ho wns laid at 
(ho dvH>r, tho boll w.as nnig, tho fatuily oamo out, and tbund 
hiiu blooding ai\d noar bis vlonth. Ho rotusovl to nanu' his 



c r> o u i> B ci A r n k n. 327 

antaf^oniHt, or ^ivo any account of tho aflfair, declaring lliat 
(ivc.iy thing wliicli had been done wan Ijonoi'aljly done, and 
desired tliat no attempt Hhonlrl be made to seek out or molest 
hi.s adversary,"* 

To such lengths can political fury drive men of honor, edu- 
cation and humanity. Let us hasten past these deplorable 
Hcenes, 

Three years of Colonel JJun's Vice-Presidency passed in 
these contentions. Tliey told upon his popularity. As the 
time for selecting candidates for the presidential campaign 
dr(;w on, it became rnanifest that he could not secure the un- 
divided support of the Republican party for a second term. 
His career was interrupted, lie must pause a while. By 
some other, and longer, and more circuitous ]jath he must 
continue his ascent to that top-most, dazzling height, which 
has lured so many Americans to falseness of life and meanness 
of fiirn. The course which he [pursued, in these circumstances, 
was precisely what flddiiy to his party would have dictated. 

Toward the close of January, 1804, he requested a private 
interview with the President, On the designated evening, 
the two chiefs met, and had a long conversation. The ac- 
count which Mr, .Jefferson left of this interview is doubtless, 
in the main particulars, correct, but some of the minol^ cir- 
cumstances are evidently colored by his natural dislike of a 
man who, he thought, had been his rival without being his 
equal. No man can wiite quite fairly of one whom he hates, 
desjjises, or feai's. 

Colonel Burr began tlie conversation by sketching his politi- 
cal career in New York, dwelling particularly on the late cru- 
sade against him. lie proceeded 16 say, among other things, 
thai his attachment to Mr. Jefferson had been sincere, and 
that he had keenly enjoyed his company and conversation. 
His feelings had undergone no change, although "many little 
stori(;s" had been carried to him, and, he sup]K;sed, to Mr. 
Jefferson also, which he despised. But attachment must be 
reciprocal or cease to exist, and therefore he desired to know 
whether any change had taken place in the feelings of Mr. 
* " RorninLsccnctJH of tho Evming Post." liy W. C. Bryant. 



328 LIFE OF AARON BURR. 

Jefferson toward himself. " He reminded me," says Jefferson, 
" of a letter written to him about the time of counting the 
votes, mentioning that his election had left a chasm in my ar- 
rangements ; that I had lost him from my list in the adminis- 
tration, etc. He observed, he believed it would be for the 
interest of the Republican cause for him to retire ; that a 
disadvantageous scliism would otherwise take place ; but that 
were he to retire, it would be said he shrunk from the public 
sentence, which he would never do ; that his enemies were 
using my name to destroy him, and something was necessary 
from me to j)revent and deprive them of that weapon, some 
,mark of favor from me which Avould declare to the world that 
he retired with my confidence." 

The President replied at great length. Waiving Burr's in- 
quiry respecting his personal feelings, he said, that, as he had 
not interfered in the election of 1800, so he was resolved not 
to influence the one which was then impending. He did not 
know who were to be candidates, and never permitted any 
one to converse with him on the subject. "With regard to the 
attacks which the press had made upon the Vice-President, 
he had noticed them but as the passing wind. He had seen 
complaints that Cheetham, employed in publishing the laws, 
shouM be permitted to eat the public bread, and abuse its 
second oflicer. But the laws were published in some papers 
which abused the President continually, and, as he had never 
thought proper to interfere for himself, he had not deemed it 
his duty to do so in the case of the Vice-President. 

" I now," continues Mr. Jefferson, " went on to explain to 
him verbally what I meant by saying I had lost him from my 
list. That in General Washington's time, it 'had been signified 
to him that Mr. Adams, the Vice-President, would be glad of 
a foreign embassy ; that General Washington mentioned it to 
me, expressed his doubts whether Mr. Adams was a fit charac- 
ter for such an office, and his still greater doubts, indeed, his 
conviction, that it would not be justifiable to send away the 
person who, in case of his death, was provided by the Consti- 
tution to take his place ; that it would, moreover, appear 
iitdeoent for him to be disposing of the public trusts in ap- 



CLOUDS GATHEE, 329 

parently buying off a competitor for the public favor. I con- 
curred with him in thp opinion, and if I recollect rightly, 
Hamilton, Knox, and Randolph were consulted, and gave the 
same opinions. That when Mr. Adams came to the adminis 
tration, in his first interview M'ith me, he mentioned the neces- 
sity of a mission to France, and how desirable it would have 
been for him if he could have got me to undertake it ; but 
that he conceived it would be wrong in him to send me away, 
and assigned the same reasons General Washington had done; 
and, therefore, he should appoint Mr. Madison, etc. That I 
had myself contemplated his (Colonel Burr's) appointment to 
one of the great oiEces, in case he was not elected Vice-Pres- 
ident, but that as soon as that election was known, I saw that 
it could not be done, for the good reasons which had led Gen- 
eral Washington and Mr. Adams to the same conclusion ; and, 
therefore, in my first letter to Colonel Burr after the issue 
was known, I had mentioned to him that a chasm in my ar- 
rangements had been produced by this event. I was thus par- 
ticular in rectifjang the date of this letter, because it gave me 
an opportunity of explaining the grounds on which it was 
"v^Titten, which were, indirectly, oji answer to his i^resetit hints. 
He left the matter with me for consideration, and the conver- 
sation was turned to indifferent subjects." 

Mr. Jefferson concludes this day's jouraalizing with the fol- 
lowing remarks: "I had never seen Colonel Burr till he came 
as a member of the Senate. His conduct very soon inspired 
me with distrust. I habitually cautioned Mr. Madison against 
trusting him too much. I saw, afterward, that, under Gen- 
eral Washington's and Mr. Adams's administrations, whenever 
a great military appointment, or a di2:)lomatic one was to be 
made, he came post to Philadelphia to show himself, and, in 
fact, that he was always at market, if they had wanted him. 
He was, indeed, told by Dayton, in 1800, he might be Secre- 
tary at War ; but this bid' was too late. His election as Vice- 
President was then foreseen. With these impressions of Col- 
onel Burr, there never had been an intimacy between us, and 
but little association. When I destined him for a high ap- 
pointment, it was out of resppct for the favor he had obtaipcd 



330 LIFE or AARON BURK. 

with tlie Republican party, by his extraordinary exertions and 
Buccesses in the New York election iu 1800," 

Ml-. Jefterson's memory was a little at fault here. While 
the Republican party was slowly working its way to a niajor- 
ty, and the eft'octive help of Colonel Burr was given freely to 
he cause, Jefterson's manner toward him was cordial to a 
omewhat marked degree. In June, 1V97, for example, he 
began a long and unsolicited letter to Colonel Burr, with 
these words : " The newsjiapers give so minutely what is 
passing in Congress, that nothing of detail can be Avanting for 
your information. Perhaps, hoAvever, some general view of 
our situation and prospects since you left us may not be unac- 
ceptable. At any rate, it will give me an opportunity of re- 
calling myself to your memory, and of evidencing ray esteem 
for you." 

A few slips of this kind are all the Federal writers have to 
support their charge against Jefterson of insincerity. One 
needs little observation of life, and less charity, to give them 
a very different interpretation. And, after all, the discrep- 
ancy is not great. In 1797, he had an esteem for Colonel 
Burr; in 1804, ho says ho had never liked him, and had cau- 
tioned ]Madison against trusting him too far. Liking and es- 
teeming are sentiments so difterent that either may exist in 
a high degree without the other. In 1804, it is plain, Jet- 
ferson's dislike of Burr was extreme, perhaps morbid, and De 
Witt Clinton himself was not more averse to his further po- 
Htical advancement. Jefterson admits, in one of his later let- 
ters, that upon learning Burr's designs, after their interview, 
it was he who caused information of the same to be sent to the 
Clintons in New Yoi-k. 

Repulsed by the chief, hated by the Republican leaders iu 
his own State, distrusted by large numbers of the i)arty, Col- 
onel Burr and his friends resolved upon an appeal to the peo- 
ple. In February the plan was matured, and Burr was an- 
nounced as an independent candidate for the governorship of 
New York. A small caucus of members of the legislature for- 
mally nominated him on the 18th of February, and on subse- 
que^it days the nomination was ratifted by public meetings in 



CLOUDS GATHEE, 831 

Albany and Xew York. " Say to your ymsbanfl," wrote Burr 
to his daughter, on the 10th, " that the Clintons, Livingstons, 
etc., had not, at the last advice from Albany, decided on their 
candidate for governor. Hamilton is intriguing for any can- 
didate who can have a chance of success against A. B. lie 
would, doubtless, become the advocate of even De Witt Clin- 
ton, if he should be the opponent." 

This was true. Hamilton saw the ulterior advantages which 
the election of Burr as governor would give him, and he op- 
jjosed it in all ways, and with the whole weight of his influ- 
ence. The Federal party, reduced now to a faction, had no 
serious thoughts of even nominating a candidate, and Hamil- 
ton's efforts were concentrated on the single object of defeat- 
ing Burr. Governor Clinton declined a reelection. Lansing, 
a politician of long experience and high respectability, was the 
candidate first named by the Republicans, and Hamilton was 
strenuous, in caucus and out of caucus, in urging the Federal- 
ists to vote for him. A short article of Hamilton's on this 
point, which has been thought worthy of repuV^lication in 
his works, gives eight reason:-; " why it Is desirable thiat Mr. 
Lansing, rather than Colonel Burr, should succeed." To com- 
plete the evidence in the great case of Hamilton against Burr, 
this catalogue of " Reasons" Is here inserted : 

" 1. Colonel Burr has steadily pursued the track of demo- 
cratic politics. This he had done either from j^/rinciph or from 
cahuloAion. If the former, he is not likely now to change his 
plan, when the Federalists are prostrate, and their enemies 
f»redominant. If the latter, he will certainly not at this time 
relinquish the ladder of his ambition, and espouse the cause or 
views of t?ie weaker party. 

" 2. Though detested by some of the leading Clintonians, he 
is certainly not personally disagreeable to the great body of 
them, and it will be no diflScult task for a man of talents, in- 
trigue, and address, piossessing J^he chair of government, to 
rally the great body of them under his standard, and therf^ljy 
to consolidate for personal purposes the mass of the Clintoni- 
ans, his own adherents among the Democrats, and such Fed- 



332 . LIFE OF A'ARON I>[JRR. 

evalists, as, from personal good-will or interested motives, may- 
give him support. 

" 3. The crtect of his elevation will be to reunite, under a 
move adroit, able, and daring chief, the now scattered frag- 
ments of the democratic party, and to reinforce it by a strong 
detachment from tlie Federalists. For though virtuous Fed- 
eralists who, from miscalculation, may su))))ort him, would 
afterward relinquish his standard, a large number, from various 
motives, would continue attached to it. 

" 4, A further o^ffect of his elevation,by aid of the Federalists 
will be to present to the confidence of New England a man 
already the man of the democratic leaders of that country, 
and toward whom the mass of tlie people have no Aveak pre- 
dilection, as their countryman, as the grandson of President 
Edwards, and the son of President Burr. In vain will certain 
men resist this predilection, Avhen it can be said that he was 
chosen Governor of this State, in which he was best knoAvn, 
priueijially, or in a great degree, by the aid of the Federal- 
ists. 

" 5. Tills will give him fair play to disorganize New Englandj 
if so disposed ; a thing not very didicult, Avhen the strength 
of the democratic party in each of the New England States is 
considered, and the natural tendency of our civil institutions 
is duly Aveighed. 

" 6. The ill-opinion of Jefferson, and the jealousy of the am- 
bition of Virginia, is no inconsiderable prop of good principles 
in that country. But these causes are leading to an opinion, 
that a dismeniberment of the Union is expedient. It would 
probably suit Mr. Burr's vicAvs to promote this result, to be 
the cliief of the northern portion ; and placed at the head of 
the State of New York, no man Avould be more likely to suc- 
ceed, 

" 7. If he be truly, as the Federalists have believed, a man of 
irregular and insatiable ambition, if his plan has been to rise, 
to power on the ladder of Jacobinic principles, it is natural to 
conclude that he Avill endeavor to fix himself in poAver by the 
same instrument ; that he Avill not lean on a fillen and tiillin^- 
party, generally speaking, not of a character to favor usurpa- 



CLOUDS GATHEE, 333 

tion and the ascoiidcncy of a despotic chief. Every day shows, 
more and more, the much to be regretted tendency of gov- 
ernments entirely popular, to dissolution and disorder. Is it 
i-ationaj to expect that a man, who had the sagacity to foresee 
tliis tendency, and whose temper would ]K;rmit liim to bottom 
his aggrandizement on populai- prejudice and vices, would de- 
sert the system at the time wlien, more than ever, the state 
of things invites him to adhere to it ? 

" 8. If Lansing is governor, liis personal character affords 
some security against pernicious extremes, and at the same 
time renders it morally certain that the democratic party, 
already much divided and weakened, will molder and bieak 
asunder more and more. This is certainly a state of things 
favorable to the future ascendency of the wise and good. 
May it not lead to a recasting of parties, by which the Fed- 
eralists will gain a great accession of force i'voia former oppo- 
nents ? At any rate, is it not wiser in them to promote a 
course of things hy which schism among the Democrats will 
be fostered and increased, than, on a fair calculation, to give 
them a chief, better able than any they have yet had, to unite 
and direct them ; and in a situation to infuse rottenness in the 
only part of our country which still lemains sound, the Federal 
States of New England ?» 

This article was written too soon ; for, in a few days, Mr. 
Lansing, much to Hamilton's regret, declined, and Chief Just- 
ice Lewis was nominated in his stead, Lewis was a more 
decided partisan, 4ind a less acceptable man than Lansing, and 
his nomination was supposed to be favorable to the prospects 
of Colonel Burr. " From the moment Clinton declined," 
wrote Hamilton to Rufus King, " I began tt> consider Burr 
as having a chance of success. It was still, however, my reli- 
ance that Lansing would outrun him ; but now that Chief 
Justice Lewis is his competitor, the probability, in my judg- 
ment, inclines to Burr."' To defeat him, Hamilton's first 
scheme was to run Kufus King as the regular candidate of 
the Federal party. That abandoned, he confined his exertions 
to keeping as many Federal voters as possible from supporting 
the detested candidate. 



334 LIFE OF AAKON BURR. 

I neoil not dwell on the contest, the result of whieh is only 
too well known. Like nine out often of our State, ami seven 
out o[' ten of oiu- national elections, it was a contest without 
an idea ; a preposterous struggle to p»it another man in a place 
already well-tilled. 

The Address put forth by the liurrites dwelt upon their 
candidiUe's being a si/u/ie man, with no train of family con 
nections to quarter upon tlie public treasury ; upon his tal 
ents and revolutionary services; ui)on the stand he had made 
against the British treaty ; upon the recent endeavors, on the 
part of wealthy tactions, to destroy, by \mprecedented calum- 
nies, the contidence of the people in the Vice-President's integ- 
rity ; upon his liberal jnvtronage of science and the tine arts ; 
upon the recent sale of part of his estate, and the payment of 
his debts; upon his known generosity and disinterestedness; 
and, tinally, upon the character of his great ancestors, Presi- 
dent Hurr and President Kdwarils, the best traits of both of 
Mhoin, said the Address, were blended in the character of 
Colonel Burr. 

It was an animated and very acrimonious contest. Burr's 
friends, it is true, conducted their canvass with decorum, and 
never once assailed the private character of the opposing can- 
didate. But Cheetham teemed with lies. For two months, 
his paper was chiefly devoted to maligning and burlesqueing 
the character of Burr and his adherents. Jetlersou gave the 
weiglu ot' his great name to the Clintonian candidate. A con- 
versation in which the President was re[>resenied as declaring 
that the '''' JLittleHamf^ (Oheethaui's nicknatne for Buna's set) 
was not the real democracy, was printed in capitals in the 
American Citin^ny and kept standing during the three days 
of the election.* Xot content with what his paper could 
effect, Cheetham, on the second day of the election, printed a 
handbill, setting tbrth that Burr was a remorseless and whole- 
sale seducer; that the brothels of New York were tilled 

* One) of Cheetham's fables was, that on the raght before the election, the 
Yioe-l^-esident, through Alexia, his slave, had given a ball to the colored 
votoi-s at Richmond Hill, and that he had himself led out to the dance a 
bu>:jiu woneh. This story was given as a bfiUad iu the American (/jitswj. 



with his victiro* ; and that the fiithcr of one of them was at 
that momerit in the city burning to wreak a dca<lly vengeance 
upon the Beduccr'h hea<l. Thin iiandhill Cheetharn diiitrihuted 
with liin own handH at the polls. 

Jiut tlic " Little liand" were confident of Buccess, and 
worked for it as men seldom work for the a<l vantage of an 
ot}j'.-r. 

Burr himself was, as usual, impeiturhahle. March 28th he 
wrote to TheodosLa : " Thc-y arc very busy here about an 
election between Morgan Lewis and A. Burr, the former 
supported by the Livingstons and Clintons, tlie latter per ee. 
I would send you some new and amusing libels against the 
Vice-President, but, as you did not send the speech," etc. 
April 25th, which was the second day of the election : " I 
write in a storm ; an election storm, of the like you have once 
been a witness. The thing begari yesterday and will termi- 
nate to-morrow. My head-quarters are in John-street, and I 
have, since the beginning of tliis letter, been already three 
times interrupted. * * * Ijoth parties claim majorities, 
and theie never was, in my opinion, an election, of the result 
of which so little judgment could be formed, A. li. will have 
a small majority in the city if to^aorrow nh/jul/l hh afair<J/j,y^ 
and not else." The morrow v;a8 a fiiir day. A. B. did have 
a small majority (about one hundred) in the city. For a i'aw 
hours, the Jiurrites exulted ; l^ut returns from the country soon 
changed their note. Five days after, among the gossipy para- 
graphs of an unusually gossipy letter from Burr to his daughter, 
occurred this single line about the election : " The election is 
lost by a great majority ; so rniju;h th/i better J''' Lewits had, in 
fact, received 85,000 votes; Burr, 28,000; majority for Lewis, 
7,000, 

He was beaten, but, by no means, destroyed, as is usually 
represented. A large number of his original supporters had 
abandoned him ; but, besides his own peculiar a<iherents, he 
was now strong in the confidence of the more moderate Fed- 
eralists, and nothing but Hamilton's vehement opposition had. 
prevented that party's voting for him en rruxHHe. He had, also, 
this advantage — the libels which had destroyed his standing, 



SS6 HFK OK AAUON U UUU. 

for tho tiiuo, with l»is <n\ n jnirt v, woro not only tulso, l>ut wovo 
kmncH to bo thlso by tho loadovs of both siilos. The truth was 
likely to booomo uuuutbst, iwd a roaotion to sot in, whioh 
might bonr hin» in triuiuph ovor all oj>position to nioro tlum 
his tonuor olovution. 'IMio spootrtolo of a n\!Ui who mvos his 
tbrtiuvo to his own oxortions, oontouvUna; singly ugHinst tuj- 
wout woiUth and |>owt»rt'ul tiunilios, is ono whioh appoals to 
tho synipathios anil to tho intagination of Anglo-Saxons. \Vith 
trtot suoh as his, with tVionUs so dovotoil, with partisans so 
warm, with ouoniios so tooblv united that thov onlv awaitod 
his ilowntjill to war with ono auothor, who couKi sav what ho 
might not otVoot botoro another pi-osidontial olootiou caiiio 
ro\nnl ? 

It is a uiistako, too, to suppose that tho result of this elec- 
tion rendered Colonel Burr n^orose and gUnnny. Colonel l>urr, 
in all his lotig life, never knew a gloomy day nor a luoroso 
hour. One who applies sueh epithets to him shows by that 
tl^ot alone, that he is ignorant of the man's eharaoter. I lis 
S|«rits n)de as buoyantly and as safely ovor all disi^ste»"s as a 
cork over the cataract of Niagara. There was not in him tho 
stutV ovu of which gloom is made. He was of Damascus 
quality ; his elasticity wns inexhaustible. Cheethjmi was not 
very wn>ng, perhaps, when he siud that Burr was eiated by 
the nvsult of the olootiou ; as it sliowed him his strength as 
an independent candidate, and gave him new hopes of being 
able to fornx a great den\v>cratic, juiti-\"irginia party. 

Would that he couhi have pa\tsed hwo, and bm-ied iu 
oblivion politictU aspirations and jminiosities. A bright career 
was still before hinx iu the law. Hamilton had won great 
glory this very spring, by defending at Albany, before the Su- 
pi^me Court, with nnparalleled eloquence, sm editor who had 
been ituiicted for a libel on the IVesident. His gr:u\d object 
was, by annihilating the maxim, ',' The givat or tho truth, the 
greater the libel," to establish on new and broad foundations 
the liberty of the p»*ess, "At\or all, eamothe powerful Hamib 
tOM," wrote a correspondent of tho '" ''*(/ Po^L *' Xo lui- 
gwage can convey an adequate idc. , . ...o astonishing powers 
wviuced by him. The audience was uumerous, and though 



OLOUDS GATHEE. 337 

composed of those not used to the melting mood, the effect 
produced on them was electric. * * * As a correct argu 
ment for a lawyer, it was very imposing, as a profound com 
mentary upon the science and practice of government, it has 
never been surpassed." Here was glory; here was triumph. 
Burr's eminence at the bar was such that, on all cases of com- 
manding interest, he was the man likely to l>e selected to op 
pose Hamilton or to aid him. 

For any thing that is now kru/ir/n^ Burr may have meant to 
(x>nfine himself to the peaceful triumphs of the bar. B'lt, 
alas ! the curse of having made a false step in life is, that it 
necessUatea worse ! 

10 



CHAPTER XIX. 

THE DUEL. 

Thb 6KSKS.AL Pkovooation — Thk Particular Pkotooatiost — The IIostii^ Cor 
kaspoNDKLNCK — The Ouaiaknge Givim akd Accepted — Hamilton's Conduct, 
AUD Bukk's Lettkks bkvokk thk Mkktis« — Tub Banqust OF the Cincinkati — 
The Last Wkitings of Hamilton and Burr — The Dueuso Ground — Tub 
Duel — Ewect on tub Public Mind — Tub Coroner's Vkrdiot — Dr. Nott's 
Skkmon — Tub Monument to Uamiltom os tub Ground. 

As habit is second nature, dueling must formerly have 
seemed a very natural mode of settling personal disputes, for 
few public men passed through life ■without being concerned 
in, at least, one " aflair of honor." Gates, De AVitt Clinton, 
Randolph, Benton, Clay, Jackson, Decatur, Arnold, Walpole, 
Pitt, Wellington, Canning, Peel, Grattan, Fox, Sheridan, Jef- 
fi'ey, Wilkes, D'Israeli, Lamartine, Thiers, and scores of less 
famous names, are found in Mr, Sabine's* list of duelists. 

In all that curious catalogue, there is not the name of one 
politician ■n'ho received provocation so often-repeated, so irri- 
tating, and so injurious, as that which Aaron Burr had re- 
ceived from Alexander Hamilton. 

Burr was not a man to resent promptly a personal injury, 
even when what he called his " honor" impelled him to do so, 
The infidelity of a comrade cut him to the heart ; to be 
doubted by a friend, was, as he once said, " to have the very 
sanctuary of happiness invaded ;" the disapproval of his own 
set he would have felt acutely. But, to the outcry of the 
outer world he was comparatively indiflerent, and the inju- 
rious attempts of enemies he usually disregarded. Aaron 
Burr, whatever taults he may have had — and he had grievous 
and radical taults — was 7iot a revengeful man ; there has sel- 
dom lived one who was less so. He had to be much persuaded 
* " Notes on Duels and Dueling." By Lorenzo Sabine. 



THE DUEL. 339 

hai'ora he would Bue Chootham for libol, and the suit was Ian- 
guidly prosecut<id. Cljeethara hirnHeJf, in January of tliis 
very year, 1804, had taunted him for allowinj^ Hamilton to 
Kpeak and write of him as it was then notorious he was in the 
hahit of doing, " Is the Vice-President sunk so low," said 
this wretched calumniator, "as to submit to be insulted by 
General Hamilton '/" 

At every step of Burr's political career, without a single 
exception, Haruilton, by open efforts, by Becret intrigue, or 
by both, had utterly opposed and forbidden his advancem'-nt. 
ile had injured him in the estimation of General Washington. 
He had pi evented Mr, Adaras from giving him a military ap- 
pointment. His letters, for years, had aVjounded in denun- 
ciations of him, as severe and unqualified as the language of 
a powerful declaimer c^juld convey. From Burr's own table, 
he had carried away the unguarded sallies of the host for use 
against the political opponent. The moht offensive epithets 
and phi-ases he liad so habitually applied to Burr, that tTTey 
had become familiar in the mouths of all the leading Federal- 
ists ; who, as the reader may have observed, denounced Colo- 
nel Burr in Hamilton's own words. And, finally, he had jixst 
succeeded in fruh>trating Burr's keen desire for vindication at 
the people's hands ; and, in doing so, had made it only too 
evident to all the influential politicians, tliat for the success of 
any [>Ians of political a/lvancement which Burr might in fu- 
ture form, it was, above all things else, essential that Hamil- 
ton's injurious tongue should be either silenced or bridled. 

Tiie two men had already been near colli>5ion, I think it 
was in 1802 that Colonel Burr, having obtained some imper- 
fect knowledge of Hamilton's usual mode of cliaracterizing 
him, had had a c^jnversation with him on the subject. Ham- 
ilton (so said liurr in later years), had explained, apologized, 
satisfied Burr, and left upon his mind the impression, never 
effaced, that thenceforth liamilton was pledged to refrain from 
speaking of him as he had been accustomed to do. They 
j>arted with cordiality, and had ever since been, apparently, 
very good friends. Burr considered then, and always, that 
he had made prodigious sacrifices, as a man of honor and a 



oouM uvM l>ul ini\«r«> IhmH ;»s i\'U\vli<l;>(os lor (ho |>ultlii< oonll- 
»louoo. b'rouv iho hour iMirr lo!»^n«^l [\\M ll;»n\iUon still usod 
his toviwor lVt*o»lvMU, h*' oo;>sih1 to nvspool lum ; ho hoM hiiu in 
v^otUompt, «s !» »>\;>>» i»\s<M>sihlo t»» i'onsi\l«*rnti\MiH ol' 1»o\\vm" mid 
v^tHul tiuth. l»»u'v's now l'\Hlornl tViomls, vo\»og;uh\«* (\'on\ (ho 
Uiuniltowi tv. h;>vl ^;ivou him now in(orn\;>(iot» r<>spoo(inj:t 

tho /<.',;■ »n\»lor whioli (hoir t'ovntor lojuior lahoroil, 

juul (ho I'mvi'nai^o in whioh i( wos {yooustomtnl (o (invl vont. 

i\>nsi»ltM" (ho ('on>o o(' nnothor oir\M»n\s( ;\i\oo npoti ;> iuin«l 
liko Mnn's \vh»>so tvU^i4;ioi\ w^?*, ti»loli(Y (o oouvruvlOvS. Mom 
\\hv> jMH^iuUv K»oktHl np (\> hinv ;\s iworo (hjui (l>oir j^olitioal 
ohio(' t>s tho prt^iM\\in»M»( j»on(KM\\;u\, i\\\d iwvhIoI n>jn» oi" (l»o 
WAM'UK oi' ()»}>l «i»o — hjul loui»'h( iu his nujwrol, i\t\d loujvh( w'i(h 
« ivokloss v>ouv«ji>o whiv'h l»o h;>»l tirst inspiroil, and tl\ou oowu 
m;uulovl, If! ho oovvision shvMiKl ariso, w»hl ohiot" vioolino (ho 
ouovMintov witl\ ohio(', }>t\oi' (ho suhaltorus hjvvl so i»;\ll{>n(l_v ovm\- 
towilo^l ? AnU (his ov>nsivlor;uivM\ \\t\\\ \\\\u\\ woijihi with Hjuu- 
il(\M>. UosiUo havinjf s)uvv^(ivM\o>J (ho |M!»o(ioo ot' »h(olini»\ l>v 
sorviug as sotHMhl [k\ Ov>Km\oI Kauro\>s in his vino! \vi(\\ (^ojum'jU 
l.oo, his oww vson ha\l tnUo(\. (hroo yoaws aijo, in what tho h>n- 
gnaiio of (hat vlay oaUovl (lu> vinilioa(i»>n ol' his tjuhor's hvM\or. 
In shorty '<<fvr, sinoo tho »luolK^ was invontovl, wovo two u»on, 
it' (ho \V\\uisi(o (oohniwU {m>V\>v\uiou shouKl aviso, so ivonliavly 
au^l in^vsistthly bvMmd to tiiiht^ as w oro Aa(vn Uiut a»ni Alox- 
amior UauuUv^n in tho sutniuov otMSO-*. 

I'^uviujv tho lato ohvtion tor >jwornvM\ a lottor (Kmu Or. 
V^I\avU\s \^, <.\»opov to a tViotivl, tvnnul its way into tho jv>po»^ 
whioh iHvntAinod two sonton*>tvs ivlatinj* to C\>K»nol Hurr. <.^i\o 
wa.s this: 

** l^ouoval U:»vuUon auU .huii>o Koi\t ha\o »Uvhuvvt. m s>»h 
i^tauvv. that thov Kvko*l \»pon Mr. Hnrr to \>o a ^laniiv»\M»s 
t\>an, anvi ouo who oui^jht ^^^^t to \^o trnstovi w ith tho roins ot' 
j4wornmo«t," 

This was tho othot^; "1 ivuhi dotail to you a still u»o»v ilos- 
j^iv^aUlo oj\»uivM\ wUioh GtM\oml Hatuiltou hjw oxpi^vssovl of Mr. 



■I II I', htl K,L. Ml 

W'%H \>U\, \u\,h C/h , «if('J ,' 

i\u'. nWuniom to 

III iUt', Hi'U;rnoon of Jutut J7f-I>, Mr W'tHUifn S*. Vutt \<;»*, 

war oi' h:ii^ i-'-r.-'i :-i i, '>','; i'fhfU * ' iJurr •■' • 

hlffi to call f>f \''.''.iu'.t,t\ ffill 4tu t\n: . .'/pr tfi'i. Ji . 

w'jfif,. At t' '/f Hurr, h<j tumyi',yt-A i)r, (ioofttti^tt U-^f^ 

U',r Ut (hrtmrftl M«ff»ii)Wn, wHh th<? fri/>#f, offcjtniv*', yAPMH'/h 
in:it\c''\.uH'\ H uhU', i'roui <l't\ituii\ SUtrt^ whhU^ HM hr'u4\y m 
y. • ■ iiii^,t, u, 1': ' • ' '■. 

th' ' .; • '^ V',- ...., ■,, . - 

of ft \irhttt\A, hw\ Utr. .1 or i\t',u\H,\ oif i.'hh 

undt <,i' nuy (-.zf^rtj^'iom ¥fhu'h wou\i\ warrwat iUh fmn-^rt'iottn of 
Mr. (l<>h\tiif," 

liiiiitulim «ra« !,;>/ ,,')••/;, ii': ii;i/i not, i>«-Aih<: it.u.i 

oi' C.'AofU'.l Mnrr, \n; nhy n-.'. 

im wonUl Wrfi4 fut Attnwart/f Mr, Vm. offifM (Vau Sttm 

W'An n Uwy^r) in iha (umrmt ofiUtffhy, i/^U'. tUnl, ' ' . ' 

':',:"■ ' "• Vm, *' - ■ ' toM h: 

//»';,' r. J, \,\in i'or two ^l^iv* lo C/fUU'-'f hui Ott thtt 'Z<fi,h h^; 
wotthl ii'tvc hUu {i t'/ttn ,'m ior i'oUnuti iiurr. 

/•. ' /'4M Vki -Oft /i/j, 

'■...l.'-.'i '.'.. . ■ •;'! 

'J'/r. ;)/»']< ., : -//,,•'.; „.,., ,,,',t<', 

th'-'i/i.'.ohl/', %- _ .u, \\i- (u,',.'i 

%%o\. i'//umiut Uf hi'. UiUrrroimU'A um Up Hut jmiif'M r/f ihtt iU' 

J'':r/'/n/'A>i .'■ iU'AWti from wUni Ut*, UnA 

k'^'ul of HI, (, ': 

\.': >V/'/'J ' •'.,,-//; 

'il^iM.i'iU ' . ': 

funh' J Md'^, lUh ntHtUff in itm* if 

»»'^', t''- *. ihft fa/^, And tiifulh u,h iA»nn*i 



/ ' (/.'./' 



";r WMti o\\ tiport iit*i flar/«;* of I'tirr^n Ui'ih/ri:t*.tort 



§ 



34'2 LIFE OF AARON BURR. 

Ilis^ reply m-^s prompt and decided. Hamilton's letters can 
generidly ho condensed one half without the loss of an idea, 
liurr's compact directness defies abbreviation : 

"Your letter of the 20th iiist.," wrote he, "has been this 
day received. Having considered it attentively, I regret to 
find in it nothiiio- of that sincerity and delicacy which yon pro- 
fess to value. Political opposition can never absolve gentle- 
men from the necessity of a rigid adherence to the laws of 
honor and the rules of decorum. I neither claim such privi- 
lesre nor induloe it in others. The common sense of mankind 
affixes to the e])ithet adopted by Dr. Cooper the idea of dis- 
honor. It has been publicly applied to me under the sanction 
of your name. The cpiestion is not, whether ho has under- 
stood the meaning of the word, or has used it according to 
syntax, and with grammatical accuracy; but, whether you 
have authorized this application, either directly or by uttering 
expressions or opinions derogatory to my honor. The time 
' when' is in your own knowledge, but no way material to me, 
as the calumny has now first been disclosed, so as to become 
the subject of my notice, and as the effect is present and pal- 
pable. Your letter has furnished me with new reasons for re- 
quiring a definite reply." 

Hamilton seems to have read his doom in that letter. He 
said to Mr. Van Ness, who brought it, that it was such a letter 
as he had hoped not to receive ; it contained several offensive 
expressions ; and seemed to close the door to reply. He had 
hoped that 3Ir. Burr would have desired him to state what, 
had fallen from him that might have given rise to the infer 
ence of Dr. Cooper. Pie would have done that frankly, and 
he believed it would not have been found to exceed justifiable 
limits. And even then, if Mr. Burr was disposed to give 
another turn to the discussion, he was willing to consider his 
last letter undelivered. But if that were not withdrawn, he 
could make no reply. 

Mr.. Van Ness detailed these ideas to Colonel Burr, and 
received from him a paper of instructions to guide liim in 
replying, verbally, to General Hamilton. This paper ex- 
presses with force and exactness the view of this affair then 



THE DUEL, 343 

taken, and always adhered to, by Colonel Burr. It read aa 
follows: 

"A. Burr, far from conceiving that rival ship authorizes a 
latitude not otherwise justifiable, always feels greater delicacy 
in such cases, and would think it meanness to speak of a rival 
but in terms of respect; to do justice to his merits; to bf» 
silent of his foibles. Such has invariably been his conduct 
toward Jay, Adams, and Hamilton ; the only three who can 
be supposed to have stood in that relation to him. 

" That he has too much reason to believe that, in regard to 
Mr. Hamilton, there has been no reciprocity. For several 
years his name has been lent to the support of base slanders. 
He has never had the generosity, the magnanimity, or the 
candor to contradict or disavow. Burr forbears to particular- 
ize, as it could only tend to produce new irritations ; but, 
having made great sacrifices for the sake of harmony ; having 
exercised forbearance until it approached to humiliation, he 
has seen no effect produced by such conduct but a repetition 
of injury. He is obliged to conclude that there is, on the 
part of Mr. Hamilton, a settled and implacable malevolence ; 
that he will never cease, in his conduct toward Mr. Burr, to 
violate those courtesies of life ; and that, hence^ he has no al- 
ternative but to announce these things to the world ; which, 
consistently with Mr. Burr's ideas of propriety, can be done 
in no way but that which he has adopted. He is incapable of 
revenge, still less is he capable of imitating the conduct of Mr. 
Haqjilton, by committing secret depredations on his fame and 
character. But these things must have an end." 

Upon meeting General Hamilton for the purpose of making 
the above explanation, Mr. Van Ness was informed by him, 
that he had prepared a written reply to Colonel Burr's last 
letter, and had left it in the hands of his friend Mr. Pendleton. 
The verbal explanation was therefore withheld, and General 
Hamilton's letter conveyed to Colonel Burr, It was as fol- 
lows: "Your first letter, in a style too peremptory, made a 
demand, in my opinion, unprecedented and unwarrantable. 
My answer, pointing out the embarrassment, gave you an op- 
portunity to take a l<.-ss exceptionable course. You liave not 



844 LIFE OF AARON BURR. 

chosen to do it ; but by your last letter received this day, con- 
taining expressions hidtrorons and improper, you have in- 
creastnl the difliculties to explanation intrinsically incident to 
the nature of your application. If by a ' defniite reply' you 
moan the direct avowal or disavowal required in your first 
letter, I have no other answer to give, than that which has 
already been given. If you mean any thing ditferent, admit- 
ting of greater latitude, it is requisite you should explain."' 

This letter, as might have been expected, produced no 
efVeet ; as Mr, Van Ness hastened to inform General llamil- 
ton's friend. Van Ness added, that Avhat Colonel Burr de- 
manded was this: a general disavowal of any intention on the 
part of (.u'ucral Hamilton, in his various conversations, to con- 
vey impressions derogatory to the honor of Burr. Pendleton 
replied, that he believed General Hamilton would have no 
objoctiou to make such a declaration! 

Hamilton, oi' course, declined nuiking the disavowal. l>ut 
he gave Van Ness a paper, in his own hand, the purport of 
which was that if Colonel Burr should think it proper to in- 
quire of General Hamilton the nature of the conversation with 
Dr. Cooper, General Hamilton would be able to reply, with 
truth, that it turned wholly on political topics, and did not 
attribute to Colonel Burr any instance of dishonorable eon- 
duct, nor relate to his private character. And in relation to 
any other conversation which Colonel Burr would specify, a 
frank avowal or denial would be giveti. 

A " mere evasion," said Burr, when he had read this paper. 

Other correspondence followed, but it is too fan\iliar to the 
public, and too easily accessible, to require rej>etition here. 
Tln-ouffhout the whole of it we see, on the one hand, an ex- 
asjMM-atod man resolved to bring the affair to a decisive and 
fmal issue; on the other, a man striving desperately, but not 
dishonorably, to escape the consequences of his own too un 
garded words, l^urr's final recapitulation, drawn up for th 
guidance of his second, was as follows : 

''Colonel Burr (in reply to General Hamilton's charge of 
indcfii\ltencss and inquisition) would only say, that secret whis- 
pers traducing liis fame, and impeachir.g his honor, are at least 



T H K l> V K L. .345 

equally injurious with Hlandor.s publicly uttered ; that General 
Iliuriiiton liad, at no time, and in no place, a ri^^ht to une any 
such injurious expressions ; and that the partial negative he is 
disposed to give, with the reservations he wishes to make, are 
proofs that he has done the injury specified. 

"Colonel Burr's request was, in Ihe first instance, proposed 
in a form the most simple, in order that General Hamilton 
might give to the affair that course to which he might be 
induced by his temper and his knowledge of facts. Colonel 
liurr trusted witFi confidence, that, from the fiankness of a 
soldier and the candor of a gentleman, he might expect an 
ingenuous declaration. That ifj as he liad reason to believe, 
General llamiiton had used expressi(jns derogatory to his 
honor, he would have had the magnanimity to retract them; 
and that if, from his language, injurious inferences had been 
impropeily drawn, he would liave perceived the proj^riety of 
correcting erroi'S, w'hich might thus have been widely diffused. 
With these impressions, Colonel Burr was greatly surprised 
at receiving a letter which he considered as evasive, and which 
in manner he deemed not altogether decorous. In one expec- 
tation, however, he was not wholly deceived, for the close of 
General Jlamilton's letter contained an intimation that, if 
Colonel Burr should dislike liis refusal to acknowledge or 
deny, he was ready to meet the consequences. This Colonel 
Burr deemed a sort of defiance, and would have felt justified 
in making it the basis of an immediate message. But as the 
communication contained something concerning the indefinite- 
ness of the request, as he believed it rather the offspring of 
false pride than of reflection, and as he felt the utmost reluct- 
ance to proceed to extremities, while any other hope re- 
mained, his request was repeated in terms more explicit. The 
replies and propositions on the part of General Hamilton 
have, in Colonel Burr's opinion, been constantly in substance 
■ the same. 

" Colonel jBurr disavows all motives of predeteiTnined hq^ 
tility, a charge by which he thinks insult added to injury. lie 
feels as a gent leman should feel when his honor is impeached 
or assailed f '^'JlXfS' without sensations of hostility or wishes of 

15* 



."MO III- K o 1' A A i; o N ur \i\i. 

rt>\ on<<;o, lio is (li>ti>rn\inotl to vimlionto that lioiur ;U sm'l\ 
li.'i/,;ir(l MS (lu^ naniro oC (ho ojiso Woinmuls." 

Tlu' lodiT I'oiiv'luiloil \\\{\\ iUo lomark that, tho U>ii>;tli niul 
fruit K^ssnoss ol' tho oi'>rrospot\iloiioi> provod it »isoh\«<s " to otVor 
;m_\ |tro|iosi(ion. (^xoopl tho siinplo tnossajjo which I shall now 
havo tlio honor to ilolivtM-." 

Tho ol\allonu'o was thon !;ivon anil aoooptod. 'IVn ilavs had 
olapsod sinoo Colonol Uiirr had tirst sont for ]\lr. N'an N'oss, 
auil it was now tlu> 'J 7th ot* Juno. Mr. IVuiMolon statod that 
a I'ourt was thon sitting- in w liioh C^onoral Hamilton had muoh 
businoss {o transact ; lu> would ronuiro also a littlo lin\o to 
.nrran«;o Ins jM-ivato atVairs; and, tliorotoro, vsonio ilolay was 
unaviMdablo. Tins was a.ssontoil to, .and tho noxt tn«M'nino- ap- 
pointoil lor a n»ootin»j; ot' tho soooiuls to oontor t'urthor on tin\o 
aiid plaoo. 

A( that mooting Mr. TondloUm pvosoutod a papor which, 
ho s.aid, ho had roooivod tVon\ his principal, and which con- 
tained siMno lomarks \jpon (ho n\attors in ilisputo. Van Ness 
roplioil (ha(. it' tho paper ciM\taino»l a spocitio proposition tor 
an acconunodation, ho would roooivo it with pleasure; it' not, 
ho nnist decline doino- so, as his [n-incipal ciMisidorod tho cor- 
vespoi\doi\oo oomplo(ely toru\i»»atod by (he aoooplauee ot" (ho 
ohallonge. Pendleton replied th.at tho ]>aiHn* o»M\tainod no 
sueh proposition, but consisted ot" remarks upon Van Ness's 
last letter. !Mr. N'an Ness, therefore, refused to roeoi\o it,* 
an(l rondloton ro(ired, promising to oall again in a day v>r (wo 
to make (ho final arrangemontvS. TI\o sooonds eont'orrod vsov- 
eral times bot'oro those wore ootichulod : but. at h>ngth, .Inly 

* This j^)>por was sm ^vu-iu^st ondtxaw^r, ou (Ivo jvvrt t>f GononU Hamilton, to 
a^Aui jv hv\stno nuvtiug. Tho mrttoruvt p>ssj>ji;V was aslMtows: "Mr, Fon- 
iHotou is !>\»thorii;o»l to sj\v, that in tlto ivxirso ol" tho piwvvnt '.iisoussion, writ- 
tou tM^ wrlvU, thesv has Ihh>u t\o intontion to evs\vU\ dotV. or insult, but a si»\- 
Otxro dis{\v<itiv\u to avoid oxnvtuitivxs it" it ooutd bo vlooo with p!\^l^rioty, "With 
tl»is viow Tionoi-jU UainiUou t\as Ihvu jvady to ontor i»uo a t'l-auk and fiw ox- 
pliuxation ou any and ovm* objov^t of a si>ooitio natvm^ ; bnt not to atxswor a 
j»«»or!»l and aWtnxot iuv^uirv, on^bnjoing- a ivrivxi tbt any aA>\u-!ito 

rtwUvvuon, and ox^H^siug" hiu» to unpit\»s;>ut ors. \>;u, or \i'a\iloas;\i\t 

discussions with, aay,- aivd owry person who ma.v have .....,.>.... ...m in au 

nut5VVvM"5\Wo sonso " 



TIfJi UCKl,. 'Ml 

]]th, at »,(;y<:n m \}\<i mormnrr, WdH i\x<-A upon an t, ho time; 
tho pla^;f;, VVo^fiawkori ; the weapons, piKto),-, ; th<^; diHtancfi, 
t<;n \>iu:<'M. '['\i\in^ \)(:tw(i(:n the time when Colonel Jiurr mjnt 
for Van iSToHS and the day appointed for the meeting, twe-nty- 
four dayH elapned, durinj^ the jijreater part of which the secret 
wan known, eerf.ainly, to Heven perjK^nH, and, probably, t<'> an 
many as ten. 

iJurinf^ this long period, the prineipalx went about their 
daiJy biJhinc«H oh ««ual. JfarnilU^n, aM wa« afterward fondly 
remembered, plead hiH cauHeH and consulted hiH clients, with 
all bin wonted vij^or, court.ewy, and wicAf^M. Around hi« table 
at the '•' <'rranj^e," day after day, he Haw bin «even children and 
hiii tenderly beloved wife, with a aaanfAcm fy>nw;iou.HneHH of 
the blow that waw Hu^pended over thern all. A whisper c/>iild 
have Haved him, and naved thern, but how impoHHibie it wa« to 
utter that whinper! 

Jiiirr was r(;hidinj> at cedar-<;rowned Richmond Hill, and 
found the g^reat manwon thrire w^rnewhat lone and eliilly. On 
June 2'}d (the very day upon wfiich it became (iortfun that 
the affair with Hamilton rx;uld only be t^.-rrninated by a duel) 
Theodo^.ia'H birth-day came round aj(ain, a day on which Kicb- 
mond ililj, for many a year, had known only the Hi%\i\M and 
HOundH of happine«« and mirth. Burr wa« an ob«w;rver oi'i'iite 
dayH and family feslivalH. On thi« occasion, he mvxiad a party 
to dinner, who, a« lie wrote the next day to TltcXfdfm'j^^ 
" ]ai}(jh<;(l an hour, and danced an hour, and drank her health." 
He had her picture brought into the dining-room and pla^jed 
at the table where she wa» a^;cuHtomed t^j wit. iiut, a/lded he, 
"an it i«a profile, and would not Jook at u«, we hung it op, 
and plac<jd \atalie'« (his adoptrj/1 daughter) at table, which 
laugliH and talkH with us.'' The letter in wiiicb these particu- 
lars are given is remarkable for r;/mtaining a suggestion which 
fia« since been a^lrnirably improved. " Your idea," wrote he, 
" of dressing up pier^^is of ancient mythology in the form of 
amusing tales for children is very good. You yourncj.f mtwt 
write thern. Send your performancies to me, and, within three 
weeks af»'' '1 '• ' are rec<;ived, you shall have them again in 
print, 'J. , be not only an amu.sing oc<;upation, but a 



;MS 1,1 K K OK .\ A i; t> N 111 i; ic . 

vorv (ist^Ajl ono to YOUrsoir. ll will impi-ttvt^ vourslylo mm<1 
\iMir l,'m^U!>!L>;o, ^~iv<> yow \\\\W\{h oI' :ti'<iii'!U'\, :m«l udil :i liltlo 

to VOUr HlOt'k of IvMOWlod^'O. NdlMlio, ti>«», lllllst Wcrlv ;ll ll, 

mill ril l>ol (l>;it nIio m:\U.vi ilu' Ix'sl, luh'. I will l>i' \oiif.>.l- 

ilor Mui your oritu\" Tlu' rojulor is mw:u(> liow well ihiM 

' i(l<>:»*' l»!>s sini'O IxuMi onn'ioil otil by INIr. Kin<>'sIoy nnd i>(lioi'S. 

Ills U'ttors fo his «l!m^vlit«'>', .'>' tl>'^ jUM-iod, ('<Mi(:un Iml !i sin- 
f>~l»» «llu.sion, ;>u>l (li:»( !> V!>jA"UO ono, lo I he imjuuhlinj;' oonlUot. 
On (hi' 1n( ol'.luh, ho ln'!.>.;in :i lolli>r willi llu»si^ words: 

" n,\\nij>' boon ,shiv«M'inu' with oohl all ihty, though in junloot 
bo;»l(h. 1 hnvo now, jnst at snnsot, \\:u\ i\ {\vo in n\y lilunry, 
«n>i !\n» Mttinv*' n<';u" it jnul onjoyinj^ it, It' that won! bo :»i>jtU- 
o«bl»» (o nny thinf< dono in sv»litnxlo. iSonio vory Nviso man, 
lu>\\('\or, has oxolainn^tl, 

" " Oh t t\\vtr*, who thtwU it soUfiuh^ to !>(' nK^no.' 

Thts in but jiootry. Lot us thorolbn^ di\'l> iho subjool, lost. it. 
load lo auothov on \\ liioh 1 h:i\o iinposod silonoo on in\soll'.*' 

Tho rost ot'tho lot tor is \'h«'ort'nl onon!;h. llo sa\s ho is im- 
j>atitM>t to rt\HMV0 (ho "Talos," rooonnnonds ht>r io snbsinibo 
tor tho h'\i$nfnn'if AV<'*V<'', unil to bo t'ornuu;.'; a library tor Ium' 
son. 

On tho Kovnth ot'Jnlv, Hamilton anvl Knrr nu-t, ("or tho last. 
tinio, rtt tho ooiwivial board. It was at. (ho {unnial bani^not 
ol'tho Sv>oioty ol*tho Oinoini\ati, of whioh llannlton was juosi- 
d<Mtt and l>nrr a moinl>or, Uannltv>n was oho<ntnl, and, at 
(in\os, inorrv. Uo was nr^yod, as tho toast w"»>ro nway, tv> sinj* 
tho only so\»ij l\o ovor s;utjj v>v know, tho tainons old ball.ad ot' 
7*A«* />**♦««, It was (Ijonsiht »t\«M'war\K that ho w as tnoro rt^ 
lno(>>ni( (ban \jsnal to oon\ply with tho oompany's roqnost ; 
bnt atlor so\no \lolay, ho vsaid, " Woll, yon vshall havo it." and 
s,n\5* U Jn bis bosi niatnior, givatly to (ho dobj;h( ot" (ho oM 
sv>ldio<^ \>y \vbon> bo w as sun\>\unlovl. Knrr, on Xhii (H>utvary, 
wns tvsorvod, iwinjvlod Httlo with tl\o oo»n|>any, a\nl )>«>Ui no uu 
towswn^o wUb tbo pvvsivlont. Ho was novox* a tbiont ^nan, 
!\n\l w«s jjvnoraUy, in (ho sooio(y ot'mo»>, nxoro a listonor ihat\ 
a (jxlkov. On this oooasion. his silonoo was. thorotoro. tho h^s>» 



Tf-:i.::ik'-'i; yc-t, it w;t^, r ']. Jt ' • " '■'- ' * '■'. ''.«t 

\,<: \„ii'\ u'l txlU-.uiiott '''' '■'^''••< c/^;. ■ '/J, 

\(,hk(;<\ ty/vvard him, k %i\> \ \*nrr 

Umn'A toward hiw, ari^J, h'Muu^ upfjit thfc l?*bl«, \0(>ktA Hi 
■/nr till thf? H^^nj^ wa«t <i</»6, 

i :..■'. 4tiV(:r(;ru'Aiu '■' ' '/f '/f I' fn';n '//;« 'x',A^ 

j."<';»t, whil<fj Burr ry,uirl «f;;tftily i^'/A^h )rAriicti\sir fAftttfrvaiff/n, 
TU(t of/jfjct f/f both wa«, ^/f cour«<!, to UiUnvti «</ a« fK/t V/ CX' 

^11; , , , '' rj^^r ar»d ^xcA-Matft 

wife/ " HhoMid Jt haj^/^.f i,'^ «a»4 he, " that there w Wj* tttum^h 
for the payrnewi of w»y deU*, 1 erntreat my desw chihlreri, rf 

tf,';y, or nt}y <A' i' ■ ".!*?, to - ' f/ the 

'''•'■'•'' T " to tl.- ■' V fli 

^ -;^h C^^r. . I 

have t/>o far nAf^'ii'i^'/A the i«t*re*t« r/f' rriy farnily to puhfifi 
Hvoaitiif/fiM^ And on thj.», a/yy/wnt have the le«i clatrri to }fnr(len 

■tit. It: 





Jii • . ,, ',; 


which they * 


dear r , /4 re- 

1, w a dttty, aJJ the «a/rr<'/ln<r*« ^/f 

her own [/ /^ 




tr.ey 


A few hour* iwor<: 
named lor the i» 


t/, the daiy l^/re the on«> 
in tbe e ^ ih« ;.h» 


■-•':,": ' Jj t^y a 


■v 


t , - '..,., 


;n 


M the 




t. ;;/;.'; '/f an IT.' 


'. a»id uiiU'A mhu, who ha^J. with the iit» 



.at 



!{f»0 L 1 V IC O V A A K <) N lUl It It. 

Iio luul Hlu-unli fnHU tlic doiiiiiiii,- iiitcrvitnv. ITis rliity to liia 
religion, IiIm liiiiiily, :uiil li'w c;ri'(li(ors, forbado it. Ho slioiild 
IiM/.;ii(l iiuu'li, and could tA'a'm notliiiit!,- by it. lie was consc/ious 
ol" no ill-will to (\)loii('l r.iiii-, a|ta.it iVom ]>oliti(^al o|i|iosition, 
which lie ho|icd had procccch'd iVoiii |nifc and u|niL!,'ht mo- 
tives. Uiit there were dilli(Milties, intrinsic and artilicial, in 
t]\{\ way ol'aii accommodation, which hud seenuul insiiporablo ; 
hifr//is/(\ because he really /idd b('(>n vcM'V severe upon Colo- 
ii(>l l>in-r; (irf/Jlrui/, bcKiause C^oloiu'l IJiirr had demanded too 
much, and in a manner ihat prechidod a peucoful discussion 
of tlie dilVuMilty. 

"■ vVs w ('ll," this allectinn" paper cmu^hided, " because it is ]ios- 
sible that I may havi' injured C\)loni'I l>nri-, however c.()n\ inced 
mys(«ll' thai my opinions and lU-clarations have been well 
foimded, as from my t>;(>neial principles and temper in relation 
to similar atthirs, I liave resolved, if our interviow is conducted 
in the usual manner, and it ph>ases (loA to <i;iv(} nu) the oppor- 
tunity, to reserve and throw away my lirst lire, and 1 have 
thoughts even of r(>servin<;' my second lire, and thus givinsj; a 
(h>ubK» opportunity to (\>h)nel l>nrr to pausi> and to rclloct. 
It is not, howi>ver, nty intention to enti'r intt) any explanations 
«)u tlu* >>;romid. Apology, iVcim principle, 1 hope, rather than 
pride, is luit ol" the (pn<stion. 'Vo tlutse who, with nje, abiior- 
rinjj;' the practice of duelinL!,', may think that I onii'ht on no 
account to have a(hh>d to the numbi'r of bad e\am{)]cs, 1 an- 
swi'r, that my relative situation, as well in public as in private, 
enlori-iui;' all the considerations which constitute what men of 
the world deiu)minat(> honor, imposed on me (as I thought) a 
pci'uliar necessity not to decline the call. 'Flu* ability to bo 
in tlu> liituie useful, whi'tluM" in resistini;- mischief or ellecting 
good, in those crises of our public atVairs which seem likely to 
hapi)en, would probably be inseparable iVom a confoiinity with 
pnblii* prejudici* in this particidar." 

Doing evil that good may come, though not the crime it is 
lo tlo good that evil may eon»e, is a dreadful error. It was 
the vice ot' Hamilton's otherwise worthy life. It proved fatal 
to him at last. 

In th(^ louir letters Avhich liurr wrote that evening, there 



TIIK DJJICJ,. 351 

aro no Hij^ns that tlio ^onlh; Mood of KHtluvr Edwarfln wan 
rcvoltinj^ in the vc'ihh of Iht (;nirij^ hod f^^iriHt the, rrionovv'.H 
dood, 'J'hon; Ih a tcndfjr dignity in his farewell vvordH trj Thc- 
odr>Hia, hill, no ;rii.s^ivin/:^H, Ucff'weH her a nnrnl^er of minutes 
directionH ahout tfie dispoHal of his paperH, letterH, and Herv- 
antH. Sfio waH enjoined to hnrn all HU<;h letters as, if hy ace,i- 
dent niadf; puhlie, would injure any pftrson. This, he adder], 
was more fjarticulaily applieahle to the letters of liis female 
correHpond(!nt8. To his Ht(!p-Hon, " poor dear Frederio," to 
Natj^lie, to various friends, he roquosted her to give certain 
tokens of his rernrtmhraner;. His faithful housekeeper, I'e^j^y, 
was to have a lot of |:^roiind and fifty dollars, and the other 
8orvantH 'J'lieodosia was ur^ed to adopt as her own. His letter 
concludes with these touching words: "I am indf;bted to 
you, my dearest Theodosia, for a very great porljou of the 
hapfiinesH which T have enjoyed in this life. You have com- 
pletely satisfied all tliat rny hearl and affections Jiad liofted or 
even wished. With a little more fjcrseverance, d<;termination, 
and industry, you will obtain all tliat rny ambition or vanity 
had fondly imagined. Let your son have occasir^n to be proud 
that he fiad a mother. Adieu. Adieu." 

In a postscript, he tells hr;r, ujjon her arrival in Naw York, 
to open her whole heart to his ste[j-Hon, l''rederic, who loves 
'yiim, he says, almost as mu(;h as Theodosia does, and loves 
Theodosia to adoration, lla also gives her a seal of General 
Washington's, which lie possessed, and says she may keep it 
for her son, or give it to whom slie [)I(;ases. 

Jle wrote a long letter to her husband, recommending to 
his regard and care the friends to whom he was most attached. 
"If it should be my lot to fall," he said, in eonclusion, '^yet 
I shall live in you and your son. I commit to you all that in 
most dear to me — my r(;putation and my daughtrfr. Your 
talents and your attachment will b(j the giiardiau of the one 
— your kindness and your generosity of the other. Let rnc 
entreat you to stimulate and aid Theodosia in the cultivation 
of her mind. It is indispensaV^le to her ha|>pineHS, and csscn 
tial to yours. It is also of the utmost imfK;iaance to your 
son. She would presently acquire a critical knowledge of 



352 LIFE OF AARON BURR. 

Latin, English, and all branches of natural philosophy. Ah 
this would be p(^ed into your son. If you should differ 
with me as to the importance of this measure, suffer me to 
ask it of you as a last favor. She will riclily compensate your 
trouble." 

Two very characteristic postscripts are appended to this 
letter. In the first, he commends to Mr. Alston's special re- 
gard, Frederic Prevost. " Under the garb of coarse rustic- 
ity you will find, if you know him, refinement, wit, a delicate 
sense of propriety, the most inflexible intrepidity, incorrupti- 
ble integrity, and disinterestedness. I wish you could know 
him; but it would be difficult, by reason of his diffidence and 
great reluctance to mingle Avith the world. It has been a 
source of extreme regret and mortification to me that he 
should be lost to society and to his friends. The case seems 
almost remediless, for, alas ! he is married f^^ 

The other postscript was as follows : " If you can pardon 

and indulge a folly, I would suggest that Madame , too 

well known under the name of Leonora, has claims on my 
recollection. She is now with her husband at St. Jago, ol 
Cuba." 

Late at night Colonel Burr threw off his upper garments, 
lay down upon a couch in his library, and, in a few minutes, 
was asleep. 

At daybreak, next morning, John Swartwout entered the 
room, and saw his chief still lying on the couch. Well as he 
knew Colonel Burr, he was astonished, upon aii|)roaching him, 
to discover that he was in a sound and tranquil slumber. He 
awoke the man who had better never again have opened his 
eyes upon the light of this world. Van Ness was soon ready, 
Matthew L. Davis and another friend or two arrived, and the 
pai'ty proceeded in silence to the river, where a boat was in 
leadiness. Burr, Van Ness, Davis, and another embaiked, 
and the boat was rowed over the river toward Weehawken, 
the scene, in those days, of so many deadly encounters. 

Few of the present generation have stood upon the sj^ot, 
which was fornrerly one of the places that strangers were sure 
to visit on coming to the city, and which the events of this 










V. 

■A 
O 

CO 



TIIK DUEL. 353 

day renclcred for ever memorable. Two miles and a lialf 
above the city of IIobok(M), the heights of Weehawkeii rise, 
in the picturesque form so familiar to New Yorkers, to an el- 
evation of a hundred and fifty feet above the Hudson. These 
heights are rocky, very steep, and covered with small trecjs 
and tangled bushes. Under the heights, at a point half a mile 
from wliere they begin, there is, twenty feet above the water, 
a grassy ledge or shell' about six feet wide, and eleven paces 
long. This was the fotal spot. Except that it is slightly en- 
cumbered with underbrnsli, it is, at this hour, precisely what 
it was on the 11th of July, 1804. There is an old cedar-tree 
at the side, a little out of range, which must have luuked then 
very much as it does now. The large rocks which partly hem 
in the place are, of course, unchanged, except that they are 
decorated with the initials of former visitors. One large rock, 
breast-high, narrows the hollow in which Hamilton stood to 
four feet or less. 

Inaccessible to foot-passengers along the river, except at low 
tide, with no path down to it from the rocky heights above, 
no residence within sight on that side of the river, unless at a 
great distance, it is even now a singularly secluded scene. 
But fifty years ago, when no prophet had yet predicted Hobo- 
ken, that romantic shore was a nearly unbroken solitude. A 
third of a mile below the dueling-ground there stood a little 
tavern, the occasional resort of excursionists ; where, too, du- 
eling parties not unfrcquently breakfasted before proceeding 
to the groimd, and where they sometimes returned to invig- 
orate their restored friendship with the landlord's wine. A 
short distance above the ground, lived a fine-hearted old 
Captain, who, if he got scent of a duel, would rush to the 
place, throw himself Vitween the combatants, and never give 
over persuading and threatening till he had established a 
peace or a truce between them. He was the owner of the 
ground, and spoke with authority. He never ceased to think 
that, if on this fatal morning, he had observed the approach 
of the boats, he could have prevented the subsequent catas- 
trophe. 

IJut, for the very purpose of preventing suspicion, it had 



S54 L I P ffi O F A A U O N 1! II U It . 

luHMi nrrangod that Colout>l l»urr's boat slioulil avrivo somu 
tiino hi'toro tlio otlior. About lialt-piist six, IJiirr ami Van 
Ni'ss laniliHl, anil leavin;;" Ilu>ir boixl a low yards dowji tho 
rivov, ascHMjdiHl ovevtho rooks to tlio appoiiitoil placo. It was 
n warm, bright, July inonung. TI\o sun looks down, iliroi«tly 
attor risiuii', upon tho \Voolui\\ kon hoights, and it was lor that 
voason that tho two nu'u rouu)vod thoir ooats boloro tho ar- 
r.val ol' [ho othor party. Thoro tlu\y stood oarolossly broak- 
\n»- awav tho brauohos of tho undorwood, and lookiuij out 
Upon as titir, as various, as aniniatod, as boautil'ul a scono, as 
mortal oyt>s in this boautitul wiMld ovor bohold. Tho hazo- 
orowutnl 4Mty ; tho bright, bri>ad, tlashiug, tranqnil rivor ; tho 
h>ug rt\aoh ot'wators, twolvo niilos or moro, di>wn to tho Nar- 
i\>ws ; tho Yossols at anchor in tl»o harbor ; misty, bhio Staton 
Island, swolling" up in superb contour from tho lowor bay ; tlio 
verdant tlowory heights around ; tho opposite shore of tho 
river, then ilark with forest, or bright with sloping lawn ; and, 
to eomplete the pietnre, that ren\arkably ])ioturesque promon- 
tiM'y ealUnl (^astlo Point, that bemls luit far into the streani, ft 
mile below Weehawkeu, and adils ft peculiar beauty to the 
foreground; — all these ei>»nbine to form a view, one glaneo 
at which ouijht to have sent shame and horror to the duelist's 
lioari, that si> much as the thought of closing a human being's 
oyt>s for ever on si) much loveliness, had ever lived a moment 
in his boscun, 

lIan\ilton's boat was seen to approach. A few minutes bo- 
foro seven it touched tho rocks, and Hamilton and his socoi\d 
ascendt>d. The principals and seconds exchanged tho usual 
salutations, and tho seconds proceeded iunnediately to ma'vo 
tbe nsual }u'eparations. They measured ten full paees ; then 
oast lots tor the eh.oieo of pi.isition, and to deciile who should 
give the word. Tho lot, in both cases, fell to General Hannl- 
ton's second, who chose the vppeif end of the ledge tor his 
}nineipal, which, at that liour of the day, could not have bt«on 
the best, for the reason that the morning sun, and the flashing 
of the river, would both interfere with the sight. The pistols 
were then loaded, and the principals placed, llauiilton looking 
over the river toward the eitv, and Burr turned toward tho 



TJIK DUEL. 355 

hoi;.'}it8, nnflcr wliicli Oioy fif.ood. Ah VandUiton gave Tfarnil- 
ton \i'\H pistol, ho awk'^d, 

" Will you have the hair-spring Bct?" 

" Not tMn time,'''' waH the quiet reply. 

P^ri'JIeton t^n explained to both priirsipalH tlie rules whieh 
had been a.^viii'(\ upoti witfi i-egard to the imx\(4\ after tfie 
word ///•«5,»/3/'t/{, they were to (ire an soon aw they pleaHed. Tli'; 
iiecondH then withdrew to the flHual distance. 

" Are yoii ready," said IV;ndleton, 

Both answered in the affirmative. A moment's pause en- 
sued. The word was given. Vtwrv raised his [/istol, took aim, 
and fired, Hamilton spra/ig upon hi« toes with a eonvulhive 
movement, reeled a little toward the heights, at whieh mo- 
ment he involuntarily dineharged his pistol, and then fell for- 
wai'd headlong upon his fa/;e, and remained motionless on the 
ground. Ifis hall rustled among the l^ranehes, seven feet 
above the head of his antagonist, and four feet wide of iiim. 
Burr heard it, looked up, and saw where it ha*! severed a twig. 
Looking at Hamilton, he beheld him f dling, and sprang toward 
him with an expression of [^ain upon his face, iiut at the re- 
port of the pistols, Dr. Ifosaek, Mr. iJ-avis, and the boatman, 
Jnjrried anxiously up the rocks to the scene of the duel ; and 
Van Ness, with presence of mind, w-ized iiurr, shielded him 
from, observation with an umbrella, arid urged him down 
the steep to the boat. It was pushed off immediately, and 
rowed swiftly back t^j Richmond if ill, where Hwartwoiit, with 
feclifigs tliat may be imagined, received bin unliurt chief — a 
ciiief no more ! 

Mr. Pendhiton raised his prostrate friend, \)y. Ifosnck 
found fiim sitting on the grass, supported in the arms of his 
second, with the ghagtliness of death uj^on his coiinfenance, 
"This is a mortal wound, doctor," he gasped ; and then sunk 
away into a swoon. The doctor stripped up his clothes, and 
saw at a glance that the ball, which had entered his right side, 
must have penetrated a mortal part. Scarcely expecting him 
to revive, they conveyed him down among the large rockf, to 
the shore, placed him tenderly if) the boat, and set off for the 
city. The doctor now used the tismxl restoratives, and the 



\v\tluMU li\i(\j;> upvMi ;u»v i^hioot ; tv> ouv ^voat joy, l\o i\\ lonjith 
8|>v^kt\ vMy vision is i»\vJisiino(,* woiv hivS tj^s^t wtmls. His 
p\Uso Uoojuuo uvvM t^ {>tM\vpt il>)o, his vtv^^j^inUion Won* rojiwlnr, his 
siv;l\t »vt\uuo\i. Soon {>t\or rfoovorinjy his sijil\t^ ho hnpiuMusl 
(vM'jist his t>yo \»j>on tho o;>so ot* {Mstols, j»nd ohsorvins^j tho ono 
th{>t ho l»;ul hjui in his hfuul 1\ in*>; v>n tho ovitsido, ho sjud, ' 'TnUo 
ojMV ot'ihjU pistv>l ; it is in\viisoh;>ru^Hl rtn^l still tH>okovi ; it n^av 
iiv otV juul \lo h;>rn\. l\MuiK*ton knows' (at toni|»tinij to tiin» 
his l>onvJ towjjnl hin>") ' thrtt I iliil t\ot inlonxl to ti»v at hinu* 

" rhon hohiY trjuujnil till liosaw that tho boat was aj^jm^aoh« 
in^i^ (ho whart" Ho sj«vl> * Lot ilkli^ Uan>iUon ho inuuodiatoly 
stM\t tvM'; h^t tho oYot^t bo jirailuallv bwkoto hor, but vjivo hor 
hoiVsS,' Lookiuii »p wo s>aw his tVionU, ^h\ li^vvanl, stauiling' 
on tho whart' iu j*roat ajjitation. Ho havi boon tohi by hissoi^ 
^ ■ t that Oonoral Han\ilton, Mr, lVn\Hoton, and nxysolt" ha<l 
V - ssovl tho livov in a boat tv\iivthoi\ ami too woU ho ^H^njoiv 
t\u-x^i tho ratal orrau*^, an^l tojvbodoil tho iiivadtiil nxsnlt, 
IVn^Mvinj;, as wo oanu> noan>t\ that ^Ir. IVnUU^ton an^i nvvsoU* 
ot>ly SiU up in tho storn shoots, ho oli^spod his Ixanvis tojivthov 
in tho uuvst violont apjnvhousivMx ; but whon 1 vvalUnl to hin\ 
tv> havo a wt ^MvjxaJvJ, auvi ho at tho sjuno nvon^ont sj\w his 
jHX^v tViouU Iviuii' in tho bv^tton» oV tho bv>atA ho thivw up his 
0Y<\>\ auvi bvu^t into a tloovi tvt' toa>^ an»l hu\tontatiou. llamil< 
tvM> ahMio appoan>*\ tranvjviil at>d tHM«}vvso^i. Wo thon wn« 
Yoyod him as ' - ' ' ' ' niso.* Tho diss- 

t»\\<s ot" his aiu \ u,.. ■.,.. ..., >.> tho tJi^l shook 

havi alvi^tdHk thoY woxv soatwly ablo to suuttuon tl>rtitu\le 
O»\ov>jih to vioKi siuKoiout assistan^v to thoir tlyiujy fmnul,"* 

l^y uiuo \u tho nu>nnn^^ tho «ows Wgau to Ih> uoisod aWui 

^ A buUotiu sv>vM\ : { on tho K^atxi at tho 

., — . ^ "*" '' <v "ul tho > >. > f tho town st^xnl still 

j*t tho shov - , "^^ IVojxIo stjvrto^l auvi turnoU [\*»le 

as thoY »\\^d tho briof anuonttivmotu : 

^ :xXH \Y^* t9kkx>u, \V!» 



run UUK,!.. 



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858 LIFE OF AARON BURB. 

atichor in the harbor. For two liours, the booming of so 
many guns deepened the melancholy of the occasion. Gov- 
ernor Morris, on a platform at Trinity Church, pronounced a 
brief eulogium, which penetrated every heart ; for on the 
same platform stood the four sons of the departed, the eldest 
sixteen, the youngest, four. 

The newspapers, everywhere, broke into declamation upon 
these sad events. I suppose that the " poems," the " elegies," 
and the "lines," which they suggested would fill a duodecimo 
volume of the size usually appropriated to verse. In the chief 
cities, the character of the deceased was made the subject of 
formal eulogium. The popular sympathy was recorded indeli- 
bly upon the ever-forming map of the United States, which 
bears the name of Hamilton forty times repeated. 

The funeral solemnities over, the public feeling took the 
character of indignation against the immediate author of all 
this sorrow and ruin. In a few days the correspondence was 
published, and from that hour Burr became, in the general 
estimation of the people, a name of horror. Those prelimi- 
nary letters, read by a person ignorant of the former history 
of the two men, are entirely damning to the memory of the 
challenger. They present Burr in the light of a revengeful 
demon, burning for an innocent victim's blood. Read aright 
— read by one who knows intimately "what had gone before — 
read by one Avho is able to perceive that the moral quality of 
a duel is not affected by its results — read, too, in the light 
of half a century ago — and the challenge will be admitted 
to be as near an approach to a reasonable and inevitable 
action, as an action can be which is intrinsically wrong and 
absurd. But not so thought the half-informed public of 1804. 
They clamored for a victim. The coroner's jury shared in the 
feeling which wiis, for the moment, all but universal, and after 
ten or twelve days of investigation, brought in a verdict to 
the effect, that " Aaron Burr, Esquire, Vice-President of the 
United States, was guilty of the murder of Alexandei- Hamil- 
ton, and that William P. Van Ness, and Nathaniel Pendleton 
were accessories." Mr. Davis and another gentleman, for re- 
fusing to testify, were committed to prison. The grand jury, 



THE DUEL. 359 

a few days after, instructed the district attorney to prosecu^. 
The parties implicated fled, in amazement, rather than terror, 
from these unexampled proceedings. 

Need it be told that Cheetham rose with the occasion, and 
surpassed himself? The fables he invented during the month 
following the duel have not been excelled since the love of 
scandal was implanted in the heart of man. Three of Burr's 
myrmidons, he said, had sat day and night, ransacking news- 
papers for the grounds of a challenge, and had borne Dr. 
Cooper's letter to their chief, exulting! Burr, he continued, 
had learned from a paragraph in the Chronicle^ published ten 
days before the duel, that a girl in England, who had been 
shot in the breast, had escaped unharmed from the bullet's 
striking upon a silk handkerchief.. Whereupon, says Clieet- 
ham, the valorous colonel orders a suit of silk clothes to light in, 
and went to the field in an impenetrable panoply of silk. No, 
rejjlied the Chronicle^ his coat was of bombazine, and his pant- 
aloons of cotton. Cheetham then called upon "the ingenious 
and philosophical Peter Irving," to favor the public with a 
disquisition upon the nature of bombazine, and, meanwhile, 
informs them that its woof is of silk, and its warp of mohair. 
A discussion on the fabric of the waistcoast runs through a 
few numbers of each paper. Cheetliam further averred that 
while Hamilton lay dying, surrounded by his agonized family. 
Burr sat at table with his myrmidons drinking Avine, and jocu- 
larly apologizing to them for not having shot his antagonist 
through the heart. Another of his inventions was, that Colo- 
nel Burr had, for three months, been at daily practice with 
the pistol, and had passed the morning of the 4th of July, 
before going to the banquet of the Cincinnati, in shooting at 
a mark in the grounds of Richmond Hill. The truth was, 
that Colonel Burr was inexpert with the pistol from want of 
practice. He was a fair shot, because he was fearless and 
self possessed. A great shot he never was. 

Such vitality may there be in lies planted at the right mo- 
ment in the right place, and in the right manner, that these 
foolish tales have still a certain currency in the United States. 
Many old Federalists and Ciintonians believe them, and thmk 




360 LIFE OF AAKON BURR. 

i# ignorance in one who does not. A poem, designed for 

Hamilton's monument, written a few months after the duel, 

speaks 

" Of persecuted greatness, that provoked 
The practiced aim of Infamy." 

All but the most devoted friends of Burr were overawed 
by the storm of jDopular indignation thus shamelessly stimu- 
lated. For two weeks, even the Chronicle was nearly silent. 
Then a short series of articles appeared palliating and excus- 
ing Burr's conduct. A pamphlet, signed "Lysander," was 
published in August, with the same object. There was a 
slight reaction, after the first month ; and, gradually, a con- 
siderable number of the extreme Republicans came to regard 
with a certain complacency the man who had removed the 
great Federalist from the political field. In the Far West, 
and in some parts of the South, Burr gained a positive in- 
crease of popularity by the duel. But in the States where 
his chief strength had lain, and from which he may have 
hoped for future support against the Virginians, he sunk to a 
deeper deep of unpopularity than any American citizen has 
reached since Benedict Arnold's treason amazed the strug- 
gling nation. 

This duel had the good effect of rousing the public mind of 
the free States to a sense of the execrableness of the practice 
of dueling. General G. G. Pinckney, Vice-President of the 
Cincinnati, proposed to the New York division, that the so- 
ciety should thenceforth set their faces resolutely against the 
practice. The legislature was memorialized for more string- 
ent laws upon the subject, and the clergy were besought to 
denounce the murderous custom from the pulpit. A large 
number of them did so, among whom was cSamuel Spring, of 
Newburyport, Burr's college friend, and fellow-adventurer at 
Quebec. Dr. Kott, then pastor of a Presbyterian church in 
Albany, now the venerable President of Union College, made 
the fall of Hamilton the subject of a sermon, which is still 
justly celebrated. As the strongest expression of feeling 
which the event elicited, I append here its concluding pas- 
sages : 




THE DUEL. 361 

" Guilty, absurd, and rasfi, as dueling is, it has its advo- 
cates. And had it not had its advocates — had not a strange 
preponderance of opinion been in favor of it, never, O lament- 
able Hmnilton I hadst thou thus fallen, in the midst of thy 
days, and before thou hadst reached the zenith of thy glory ! 

" O that I possessed the talent of eulogy, and that I might 
be permitted to indulge the tenderness of friendship in paying 
the last tribute to his memory ! O that I were capable of 
placing this great man before you ! Could I do this, I should 
furnish you with an argument, the most practical, the most 
plain, the most convincing, except that drawn from the man- 
date of God, that was ever furnished against dueling, that 
horrid practice, which has in an awful moment robbed the 
world of such exalted worth. * * * 

" I know he had his failings. I see on tlie picture of his 
life, a picture rendered awful by greatness, and luminous by 
virtue, some dark shades. On these let the tear that pities 
human weakness fall ; on these let the vail which covers human 
frailty rest. As a hero, as a statesman, as a patriot, he lived 
nobly : and would to God I could add, he nobly fell. 

" Unwilling to admit his error in this respect, I go back to 
the period of discussion. I see him resisting the threatened 
interview. I imagine myself present in his chamber. Various 
reasons, for a time, seem to hold his determination in arrest. 
Various and moving objects pass before him, and speak a dis- 
suasive language. 

" His country, which may need his counsels to guide, and 
his arm to defend, utters her veto. The partner of his youth, 
already covered with weeds, and whose tears flow down into 
her bosom, intercedes ! His babes, stretching out their little 
hands and pointing to a weeping mother, with lisping elo- 
quence, but eloquence which reaches a parent's heart, cry out, 
' Stay, stay, dear papa, and live for us !' In the mean time 
the specter of a fallen son, pale and ghastly, approaches, opens 
his bleeding bosom, and, as the harbinger of death, points to 
the yawning tomb, and warns a hesitating father of the 
issue. 

" He pauses. Reviews these sad objects : and reasons on 

16 




362 LIFE OF AAllON UURR. 

tlie subject. I admire his maoiianiinity. I approve his rea- 
soning, and I wait to hear him rojeet with indignation the mur- 
derous proposition, and to see him spurn from his presence the 
presumptuous bearer of it. 

" But I wait in vain. It was a moment in wliioh his great 
"wisdom forsook him. A moment in wliich Ilaui/lton was not 
himself, 

"He yielded to the force of an imperious custom, and, 
yielding, he sacrificed a life in which all had an interest ; — and 
he is lost — lost to his family — lost to us. 

*' l^'or this act, because lie disclaimed it, and was penitent, I 
forgive him. But there are those whom I can not forgive. 

" I mean not his antagonist, over whose erring steps, if 
there be tears in heaven, a pious mother looks down and 
weeps. If he is capable of feeling, ho suifers already all that 
liumanity can suffer : suffers, and, Avherever he may ily, Avill 
suft'er, with the poignant recollection of having taken the life 
of one who was too magnanimous in return to attempt his 
own. Had he but known this, it must have paralyzed his 
arm while it pointed at so incorruptible a bosom the instru- 
ment of death. Does ho know this now ? his heart, if it be 

not adamant, must sotlen ; if it be not ice, it must melt. 

But on this article I foibcar. Stained with blood as he is, it 
he be penitent I forgive him ; and if he be not, before these 
altars, Avhere all of us appear as suppliants, I wish not to ex- 
cite your vengeance, but rather, in behalf of an object ren- 
dered wretched and pitiable by crinie, to wake your prayers. 
* *• * * •* * 

" Ah ! ye tragic shores of Hoboken, crimsoned with the 
richest blood, I tremble at the crimes you record against us, 
the annual register of murders which you keep and send up 
to God ! Place of inhuman cruelty ! beyond the limits of 
reason, of duty, and oi' religion, where man assumes a more 
barbarous nature, and ceases to be nian. What poignant, 
lingering sorrows do thy lawless combats occasion to surviv- 
ing relatives ! 

" Ye who have hearts of pity, ye who have experienced the 
anguish of dissolving friendship, who have wept, and still 




THE DUEL. 363 

weep, over the molflering ruins of departed kindred, ye can 
enter into this reflection." 

Not in vain did these words ring out with such emphasis 
from that Albany pulpit. The sermon was widely circulated 
and reached the national corflbicnce. Since that day, no man, 
in the civilized States of this Union, has fought a duel without 
falling in the esteem of his countrymen. The custom is now 
abolished in those States, never to be revived. 

A faw months after the duel, the St. Andrew's Society of 
New York erected upon the spot where Hamilton, their presi- 
dent, fell, a marble monument, and surrounded it with an iron 
railing. For many years, while the monument stood, the 
place was visited by thousands of people in the course of 
every summer. It was never known by what irreverent 
hands the railing was first broken down, and the whole struct- 
ure gradually removed ; but, for thirty years past, no trace 
of the monument has existed on the ground which it com- 
memoi-ated. The slab* which bore the inscrij^tion was pre- 
served, until very recently, in an out-house of the mansion 
where resides the historical family who are proprietors of the 
spot. But, upon searching for it, two years ago, the steward 
of the estate discovered that even that last relic had disap- 
peared in the same mystei-ious manner as the rest. At pres- 
ent there is not so much as a path leading to the scene of the 
duel, and no one can find it, among those tangled and pre 
cipitous heights, without a guide. 



^Pl 



CHAPTi;^ XX. 

THE FUGITIVE. 

Burr's Oondttct after the Dpel — Anecdote — Bukk's Flight — Commodore Trux- 
ton'8 Narrative — BtJBR Kmisarks secretly fob St. Simon's — His Reception and 
Kesidence there — Banquet at Petersburg — Cheered at the Theater — IIis 
Eetukn to Washington — He Presides at the Trial of Judge Cuace — His Elo- 
quent Farewell to the Senate — His Pecuniary Condition. 

On the morninsir of the duel it chanced that one of Bnrr's 
cousins arrived in town from Connecticut, and made his way, 
about eight o'clock, to Richmond Hill. Alexis, the factotum 
of the establishment, obeyed his summons at the door, and 
showed him into the library, where he found Colonel Burr, 
alone, and engaged in his usual avocations. Bui-r received his 
young relative cordially, and, in every respect, as usual. 
Neither in his manner nor in his conversation Avas there any 
evidence of excitement or concern, nor any thing whatever to 
attract the notice of his guest. Except the master of the 
house, not a soul in Richmond Hill yet knew aught of that 
morning's work ; nor indeed could it be said, in any sense of 
the word, that the master himself A;/<ew what he had done. 

In a few minutes breakfast was announced, and the two 
gentlemen went to the dining-room and breakfasted together. 
The conversation was still quite in the ordinary strain. Burr 
inquiring after friends in the country, and the youth giving 
the information sought. After breakfast, the guest bade his 
host good-morning, and strolled off toward the city, which he 
reached about ten o'clock. As he walked down Broadway, 
he fancied he observed in passers-by the signs that something 
extraordinary had occurred or was expected. Near Wall- 
street, an acquaintance rushed up to him, breathless, and said, 

" Colonel Burr has killed General Hamilton in a duel this 
mornino-." 



THE FUGITIVE. 365 

" Why no he hasn't," replied the young gentleman, with 
the utmost positiveness, " I have just come from there and 
taken breakfast with him." 

" But," replied the other, "I have this moment seen the 
news on the bulletin." 

The cousin, reflecting for a moment on the absolute serenity 
f Burr's manner, and concluding that he would certainly 
have mentioned so interesting an occurrence if it had taken 
place, was still utterly incredulous, and, denouncing the report 
as false, went on his way. Before turning into Wall-street, he 
found the whole city astir, and soon had reason to suspect 
that the bulletin was only too* true. So completely could Burr 
command his features and conceal his feelings. 

Colonel Burr remained at or near Richmond Hill for eleven 
days after the duel. He was wholly unprepared for the excite- 
ment that arose. It never, before the duel, seemed once to 
have occurred to him that the public, which had seen with 
comparative indifference so many sanguijiary conflicts of the 
kind, would discover any thing extraordinary in this one, 
whatever might be its result. He supposed, and had good 
reason to suppose, that, on the day before the duel, he was a 
more popular and a more important man than Hamilton. 
Was he not Vice-President ? Had he not just been voted for 
by a majority of the freeholders of the city, in spite of Hamil- 
ton's most strenuous exertions ? Yet, the day after the duel, 
the dying Hamilton had the heartfelt sympathy of every crea- 
ture in the town, and Burr began to be regarded with abhor- 
rence. " No one," said embittered John Adams, " wished to 
get rid of Hamilton in tltat way." 

Soon after Hamilton died. Burr found it would be best for 
him to retire awhile from the scene of excitement. On Yv\- 
day, he wrote thus to his son-in-law : " General Hamilton died 
yesterday. The malignant Federalists or Tories, and the em- 
bittered Clintoiiians, unite in endeavoring to excite public 
sympathy in his favor, and indignation against his antagonist. 
Thousands of absurd falsehoods are circulated with industry. 
The most illiberal means are practiced in order to produce ext 
citement, and, for the moment, with effect. 



866 LIFK OF AAUON BURR. 

" T projiosc loavino- town for :i Ccw days, and meditate also o 
journey of some wei>ks, but wliithcr is not resolved." 

A week latcM-, he wrote to the same jierson, that tht^ duel 
l>ad driven hini into a sort of exile, and mhjht terminate in an 
aet-u;i] and permanent ostra^Msm. " Our most nn])rincli)led 
Jacobins," ho continued, "are the loudest in their lamenta- 
tions for the death of General Hamilton, whom, for uiany 
years, they have uniformly represented as the most detes<table 
and nnprincipled of men — the motives are obvious. Every 
Bort of persecution is to be exercised a!J!;ainst me. A coroner's 
jm-y will sit this evening, being the fourUi time. The object 
of this unexampled measure is to t>btaiu an inquest of murder. 
Ui)on this a wafrant will be issued to apprehend me, and, if I 
should be taken, no bail would probably be allowed. You 
know enough of the temper and principles of the generality 
of the ollicers of our State government to form a judgment 
of my i)osition. 

" The statement (by Van Ness) in the Morning Chronicle 
was not submitted to my perusal, I being absent at the time of 
the publication. Several circumstances not very favorable to 
the deceased are suppressed ; T ]n'esume, from holy reverence 
for the dead. I am waiting the rei)ort of this jury ; when 
that is known, you shall be advised of my movements," 

On Satiu'day evening (July 21st), a barge lay olf a little 
wharf behind Richmond Hill. At ten o'clock, Burr, sur 
rounded by a party of his friends, letl his residence, and 
Avalked down to the river. The barge came alongside, when 
Burr, accompanied by his unswerving friend Swartwout, and 
a favorite servant, stepped on board. The boat was imme- 
diati'ly pushed off, and its prow turned down the river. All 
night the bargenien plied their oars, while Burr and his com- 
panion lay in the stern, and, at intervals, sle])t. By nine 
o'clock on Sunday morning the boat was o|)pi>sito the lavvg 
of Commodore Trnxton's residence at Perth Amboy, in New 
Jersey. What occurred there was related by the gallant 
connnodoro hiinself in a letter, which was published in the 
iJraiing J^osf a few days atler. 

*' On Sunday morning," wrote Commodore Truxton, " bo- 



THE FUaiTIVE. 307 

twoen the hours of nine and ten o'clock, I was cngagofl in my 
8tu(Jy, when a servant came and said a genthiman wanted to 
Hce me. Siii>))Osing it to ])e one of my neighbors, I (hisired 
liim to ask the gentleman to ho seated in tlio drawing-room 
for a ihw minutes, and I wouhl wait upon him. Soon after 
Mrs, Triixton came in, and told mo it was the Vice-President. 
I immediately went down stairs, and a negro boy w!i,Ik(;d up 
to me, wiiom I did not at that raom(!nt recognize; he said 
that Colonel Burr was in a boat, and wished to see me. I 
went out, and discovered the boat that landed the boy laying 
off at a short distance from the shoi'o, and the bargemen on 
their oars, keeping a position opposite to my landing-i)lace, 

" As soon as I a[)[)roached near enough to the boat, the 
Vice-President and myself exchanged salutations. The boat 
then came in, when he landed immediately, as did Mr. Swart- 
wout, whom he introduced me to, never having seen that gen- 
tleman before, 

" In walking up to my house, the Vice-President told mo 
they had been most of the night on the water, and a dish 
of good coffee would not come amiss. I told him it should be 
furnished with pleasure. As soon as we got on the pia/.za, I 
ordered breakfast, which was soon prepared, as the equipage 
of that meal was not yet removed below, 

" After breakfast, Mr. Svvartwout returned to New York, 
and the Vice-President asked me if horses were to be pro- 
cured to take him on his jouiney further southward. Not be- 
lieving, as it was Sunday (and as I was afterward infoi-med), 
that he could be accommodated with convenience in this re- 
spect, I told him so, and that he must content himSelf wli(;re 
he was. On Monday morning, however, I ordered up my own 
horses and carriage, and took him to Cranberry, about twenty 
miles from this place, where he hired a carriage and horses to 
[)roceed with him to the Delaware, and I returned home. 
During the time Colonel Burr was with me, but little was 
said of the duel ; delicacy on his part, as well as mine, 
l>revonted such conversation. lie ap})eared to me to feel 
much more sorrow and I'egret than I have observed in any 
other iKU'son on the occasion, though I have seen many 



808 LITE OF AAUON BURR. 

who oxprossod unrcii^noil voi;io(, niul T wns o«M'taiti th;it tlicy 
felt it. 

"In rouvorsation T lnok an oppovttmity of ol>sovvin<x my 
own loolin<>s on the subjoct, niul tliat Gonoral Hamilton I had 
estoonjod as an invaluabli" friend, statosman, and soldier; that 
jis a ]H)litii'ian, 1 ndniirod him always, and, in fact, loved him 
as a brt^her. Those expressions were made rather invelun- 
tarily, anil I was sorry T made them, as tliey oxeited an in- 
creased emotion in the breast ol" Colonel Bnrr, whieh ought 
not to have been made by me, but it seemed unavoidable. I 
added, at the same time, that T had, and always had, an nn- 
feigned and sincere regard ti)r Ci)lonel Hurr, and that while I 
regretted (he past event. T at the same time gave hini a hearty 
>veleome, as I should have done (uMieral Hamilton, had the 
fato of their interview been reviMsed, and he had made me a 
visit. T ha\e taken time and i^iins to reeolleet and relate, as 
nearly verbatim as possible, every material ex]>ression on the 
subjeet, introduced in ei>nsequenee of the nnlintunate catas- 
trophe, or that passed between us; and hope it Mill ]irevent 
nny further misrepresentation, at least as lar as yon can pre- 
vent it, 

"The dilVereiice ot' these two gents' ]H>litical ojiinions, I 
could not but know; but notwithstanding this ditVerence, I 
had otlen met them together when the ilemon o\' discord, in 
no instance, excitcil an expression or gesture in the one that 
could disturb the harmonious feelings of the other. But I al- 
ways observed in both a disposition when together to make 
time agreeable, according to the end intended by such n\oet- 
ings in so'ciety, at the houses of each other, and of friends 
and it was never, until the unhappy atVair o\' a duel was an 
nounced here, that 1 could have believed such a business wa 
in contemplation between those getUlemen. 

'*No man, sir, can lament this sad event more sincerely than 
I do ; and particularly since I have examined the correspond- 
ence and other papers on the subject. Rut let the n\elan- 
eholy lesson teach the inconsiderate that while any gentleman 
may express his opinion of men and things as he pleases, 
whether by letter or otherwise, under his own responsibility, 



THK PUGITIVK. 369 

• 

that he should bo cautious how ho implicatos or commits 
otJiors ; who in good faith, perhaps, and in private conversa- 
tion, communicate sentiments never intended for the public 
ear. That such conversations daily liappen among gentlemen, 
tliere can be no doubt; but for the honor of society, they are 
but seldom promulgated to the world without permission, or 
by some uncommon accident." 

From Cranberry, Colonel Burr was conveyed in a light 
wagon to the ferry at IJiistol, whence he crossed into Penn- 
sylvania, and HO, by back roads, made his way, incog.^ to Phil- 
adelphia. News traveled slowly at that day. • At a tavern in 
Pennsylvania, the landlord, who knew the fugitive, accosted 
him by name, but was immediately silenced, and put on his 
guard, liuir found that the duel, which had been fought 
thirteen days before, had not yet been heard of in the village. 
Reaching Philadelphia in safety, he was welcomed to the 
house of his old friend, Dallas, and, at once, appeared in the 
streets, on foot and on horseback, exactly as if nothing was 
the matter ; or, to use the language of the Trenton Fcdercd- 
iat, " he had the hardihood to show himself in the streets." 
A slight indisposition having withdrawn him from public ob- 
servation, i'or a day or two, he was reported to be danger- 
ously sick. " What !" exclaimed the pious Cheetham, " has 
the vengeance of God overtaken him so soon ?" 

The last days of July wore away, and Jiurr was still wait- 
ing to hear the result of the coroner's inquest. This was not 
rendered till the 2d of August, at two o'clock in the morning. 
John Swartwout imm(;diately disftatched an express to Van 
Ness who was secreted in the country, and to Burr at Phila- 
delphia. Tie added, that the excitement was subsiding in New 
York, and that Burr^a old friends were " rapidly traveling back 
to 1800. (Governor Lewis," he said, "speaks of the proceed- 
ings openly as disgiaceful, illiberal, and ungentlemanly. In 
short, a little more noise on their side, and a little further 
magnanimity on ours, is all that is necessary. In all this 
bustle, judicious men see nothing but the workings of the 
meanest passions." 

Warrants were immediately issued for the arrest of the 

IG* 



370 LIFE OF AARON BUKE. 

pi-iticipal and the two seconds. Burr foresaw that, in the pres- 
ent state of the pubhc mind, Governor Lewis would be com- 
pelled to demand his surrender from the Governor of Penn- 
sylvania, who would be obliged to order his arrest. In this 
extremity, he offered to surrender on condition of receivino- a 
guaranty that he should be released on bail. This could not 
be. In the midst of a pleasant renewal of his flirtation with 
Celeste, which promised now to have a serious issue, he was 
compelled to make preparations for an immediate flight. " If 
any male friend of yours," he wrote to his daughter, " should 
be dying of etmtci, recommend to him to engage in a duel and 
a courtship at the same time." He tells her that the stories 
afloat in the papers of attempts to assassinate him are all 
flibles. "Those who wish me dead prefer to keep at a very 
respectful distance." 

Had he no feeling, then ? Did he not deplore the domestic 
ruin which the duel had caused ? The reader who desires to 
be as just to an execrated as to an honored name, will give 
due weight to the circumstances of the man. Before the 
better feelings of the heart had time to wake, he became him- 
self an object of what he thought persecution, and persecu- 
tion set on foot by political enemies for party purposes. Even 
John Adams thought that the prodigious demonstrations of 
respect and sorrow which the death of Hamilton elicited, were 
paid to the Federalist more than to the man. It was, more- 
over, one of the ruling principles of Burr's life, inculcated by 
word and example, to make little of life's miseries, and much 
of its pleasures. The man who made that wife a widow, and 
those children fetherless, was not, as he thouglit, Aaron Burr, 
but Alexander Hamilton ; and if a similar or equal bereave- 
ment had occurred to himself, he would have accepted the 
inevitable stroke, and gone on his way silent and composed. 
He always made light of such unavoidable calamities as death. 
A letter which he wrote during one of the yellow-fever periods 
hi New York, began like this : " We die reasonably fast. 
Mrs. Jones died last night ; but then Mrs. Smith had twins 
this morning ; so the account is even." This soldierly liard- 



THE FUGITIVE. 371 

ness of character he cultivated, and recommeudod, and, per- 
haps, sometimes affected. 

The charitable mind that reflects upon this duel will curse 
anew that wretched system of morals which puts Honor for 
Honesty, and Pride for Principle ; but will not too severely 
condemn the man who, in common with thousands of the bright- 
est spirits of his time and country, received that system for 
lack of a better, and lived up to it — to his ruin. 

About the middle of August, Colonel Burr, accompanied 
by Samuel Swartwout (a younger brother of the indomitable 
John), and attended by his favorite slave, Peter, a good- 
humored blunderer of fifteen, secretly embarked for St. Si- 
mon's, an island ofi'the coast of Georgia, then the residence of 
a few wealthy planters. He had old friends upon this island, 
and the arrival of a Vice-President was itself an event to ex- 
cite the few inhabitants of a place so remote from the great 
woi'ld. He was welcomed, on his arrival, to a mansion luxuri- 
ous and hospitable, and the resources of the island were 
placed at his disposal. He was serenaded by the island's 
only band of music. He saw no more averted faces and low- 
ering brows, and heard no more muttered execrations, as he 
passed. His southern friends, he found, had very different 
feelings with regard to the duel from the people at the North, 
and the society of St. Simon's bestowed every mark of consid- 
eration upon him that hospitable minds could suggest. " You 
have no idea," he wrote to Theodosia, " of the zeal and ani- 
mation, of the intrepidity and frankness, with Avhich Major 
Butler (his host) avowed and maintained — but I forget that 
this letter goes to Savannah by a negro, who has to swim half 
a dozen creeks, in one of which, at least., it is probable he may 
drown, and that, if Re escape drowning, various other acci- 
dents may bring it to you thi-ough the newspapers, and then 
how many eneraiL'S mio-ht.mv indiscretion create for a man who 
had the sensibility and the honor to feel and to judge, and the 
firmness to avow — ." 

After a month's detention at St. Simon's by the devastations 
of a hurricane, he crossed to the main land, and made his way, 
with immense difficulties, traveling four hundred miles of the 



372 1, 1 F K O F A A K O N H V K U . 

ilistanco in nn opon cnnoo, to his ilnnglitov's homo in South 
Carolina. Ho was almost Maok from oxposuro whon lio ar- 
rivoil, Tiioinlosia had jKissionatoly lonooil for his oonunij. 
She and lior husband wrro dovotod to him, beliovoil in him 
utterly, and saw tlio lato atVair onlv with his ovos. Ton days 
of happy ropose, and oovdial, intimate intereonrse, passed too 
s\Yit\lv, Then he set out on the lonu" land-jonrnev to AVash- 
ington, where he was resolved to aj>pear on the asseinblino- of 
Congress, and perform his duty as 1^-esident of the Senate, 

At retersbiM'g, in Virginia, Ihur was surprised by the 
warmth of his reeeption. The hot Uepublieans there, headed 
by a ^Ir. ("J'Keefe, renowned for the fury of his polities and 
of his temper (he afterward tell in a politieal duel) arranged a 
demonstratiiMi tor tlie destroyer of the areh-foe of demoeraey. 
An invitation tVom the Kejnibliean eitizens oC the plaee to a 
public ilinner, was eonuunnioated to Uurr through the mayor, 
and eouehed in terms audaeionsly tlattering, and intended to 
retleet on the eontrarv feeling that prevailed in the northern 
States. Ihur aeeepted. The dinner was attended by fit\y or 
sixty Kepublieans, who reeeivod, toasted, and listened to tlie 
Vice-Pi'esideut with enthusiasm. Alter dinner, twenty ottlie 
hilarious Demoerats aeeompanied him to the theater, where 
the audienee rose at his entrance and cheered. ^' Virginia,'' 
he wrote to his daughter, "'is the last State, and Petersburg 
the hist town in the State, in w hi^-h I should have O-xpected 
any open marks of hospitality and respect.'' 

AVhile these scenes were [massing in Virginia, two other 
States were waiting to trv liim for n\urder. The duel havinsr 
been tbught in ^ew Jersey, certain Federalists of that State 
sucoeoded, three nu^nths atler, in getting Dr. Mason, one of 
the clergymen w iu> had attended Hamilton, to give testinuuiv 
on which to found an indietment. Rurr was indicted accord 
ingly. In XewA'ork, the evidence had been iriveu bv Bishiu* 
Moore, who admuiistered the coumumion to the dying man. 
But for those two clergymen's second-hand testimony, there 
would never have existed a word of legal evidence that tlie 
duel had been fought. 

On reachino- Washington, he was greeted with the tidings 



1 II K FIJO J I i V E. ',',7'i 

of thw now iiKlictrrj'jfil, " You have <]oubtle«« heard," Ik; 
wrote to li'iH daugliter, " that there haw BuljsiHted for Home 
time a eoritetitioii of a vary Hinguhir nature }>etween the two 
StateH of iVew York and New Jerney. * * * The Hubject 
ill dispute ix, which Hhall have the }ionor of hanginj^ the Viee- 
J'reHident, * * * y^n Hhall liave due notice of time and 
place. Whenever it may be, you may rely on a ^reat con- 
course of company, rnudi gayety, and many rare «ightH," 

liut the fpU'Htion was never decided. Commodore Jiiddle 
and Attorney-General Dallas, wrote a joint letter to Governor 
liloomfield of New Jersey, who was himself a particular friend 
of Burr's, urging him not to prosecute. The leading Kepuh- 
lican Senators addressed a siniilar letter to the governor. It 
was soon understood, that thougli nothing favorable to liiirr 
could be openly done, he should not be molested. Among 
the oflicials, and in the Bociety of Washington, during his last 
winter there, he was received with, at least, as much consider- 
ation as before. The President seems to have been more com^ 
pl;(.i.«ant than usual, lie gave one or two apfjointments to 
Jiurr's particular friends, this winter. General Wilkinson was 
made governor of the newly-acquired territory of L#;uii»iana, 
and Dr. lirown secretary ; the latter appointment being cer- 
tainly made at Burr's request. 

For the exit of this " well-graced actor" from the drama of 
public life, an imposing pageant was preparing. 'i'he Sen- 
ate, during this session, was to try Judge Chace, who had 
b(;en imp<.'ached by the House of RepreHetitatives. Chace 
was a Judge of the Supreme Court of the United States, an 
able, prejudiced, arrogant man, who, it was charged, liad 
grossly abused the authority of the ]>ench in certain political 
trials. The impeachment created an intense interest, and the 
trial attracted a concourse of people to Washington. Under 
the direction of the Vice-President, the Senate Chamber was 
fitted up in superb style, with seats and subdivisions for all the 
dignitaries of the nation, as well as for foreign embassa^lors 
and spectators. The Senators, as judges of this high fj^iurt, 
were placed in a grand semicircle, on each side of the Vice- 
I'resident, an awful array of judicial authority. Temporary 



374 LIFE OF AARON BURR. 

galleries were erected, and draped with blue cloth, part of 
Avhich the Vice-President, with his usual gallantry, appro- 
priated to the ladies. The scene presented, M'hile the trial 
was in progress, as described minutely in the papers of the 
day, must have been extremely striking. 

The trial began on the 4th of February, and ended, in a 
verdict of acquittal, on the 1st of March. The dignity, the 
grace, the fairness, the prompt, intelligent decision with which 
the Vice-President presided over the august court, extorted 
praise even from his enemies. " He conducted the trial," said 
a newspaper of the day, " with the dignity and imjiartiality 
of an angel, but with the rigor of a devil." There was a ris- 
ing tide of reaction in his favor, during the closing days of 
his public life, which, taken at the flood, might have led, if not 
to fortune, yet to an endurable existence among his country- 
men. 

The day after the conclusion of the trial, the Vice-President, 
took formal leave of the Senate, in a speech which produced 
an unexpected and profound sensation. I find an imperfect 
report of it copied into Federal and Republican papers of the 
time, and in a monthly magazine published in Xew York. It 
a])pcared, also, in European papers, both English and conti- 
nental ; for the late events had made the names of Hamilton 
and Burr lamiliar to the whole woi'ld. The Washington 
Federalist gave the original report, which was prepared, at 
the editor's request, by an unknown hand. Tlie following is 
a copy : 

"On Saturday, the 2d of March, 1805," began the reporter, 
"Mr. Burr took leave of the Senate. This was done at a 
time when the doors were closed ; the Senate being engaged in 
executive business, and, of course, there were no {spectators. 
It is, however, said to be the most dignified, sublime, and im- 
pressive that ever was uttered ; and the eflect which it pro- 
duced justifies these epithets. I will give you the best account 
I have been able to obtain, frona the relation of several Sena- 
tors, as well Federal as Republican. 

" Mr. Burr began by saying that he had intended to pass - 

the day with them, but the increase of a slight indisposition J 



THE FCTGITIVE. 376 

had determined him then to take leave of them. lie touched 
HghtJy on some of the rules and orders of the House, and rec- 
ommended, in one or tw^o points, alterations, of which he 
briefly explained the reasons and principles. 

" He said he was sensible he must at times have wounded 
the feelings of individual members. He had ever avoided en- 
tering into explanations at the time, because a moment of irri- 
tation was not a moment for explanation ; because his position 
(being in the chair) rendered it impossible to enter into ex- 
planation, without obvious danger of consequences which 
might hazard the dignity of the Senate, or prove disagreeable 
and injurious in more than one point of view; that he had, 
therefore, preferred to leave to their reflections his justifica^ 
tion; that, on his part, he had no injuries to complain of: if 
any had been done or attempted, he was ignorant of the 
authors : and if he had ever heard he had forgotten, for, he 
thanked God, he had no memory for injuries. 

" He doubted not but that they had found occasion to ob- 
serve that to be prompt was not therefore to be precipitate ; 
and that to act without delay was not always to act without 
reflection ; that error was often to be preferred to indecision ; 
that his errors, whatever they might have been, were those 
of rule and principle, and not of caprice ; that it could not be 
deemed arrogance in him to say that, in his official conduct, 
he had known no party — no cause — no friend ; that if^ in the 
opinion of any, the discipline which had been established ap- 
proached to rigor, they would at least admit that it was uni- 
form and indiscriminate. 

" He further remarked, that the ignorant and unthinking 
affected to treat as unnecessary and fastidious a rigid attention 
to rules and decorum-:, but he thought nothing trivial which 
touched, however remotely, the dignity of that body; and he 
appealed to their experience for the justice of this sentiment, 
and urged them in language the most impressive, and in a 
manner the most commanding, to avoid the smallest relaxation 
of the habits which he had endeavored to inculcate and estab- 
lish. 

" But he challenged their attention to considerations more 



376 LIFE OF AARON BURR. 

momentous than any wliich regarded merely their personal 
honor and character — the preservation of law, of liberty, and 
the Constitution. This House, said he, is a sanctuary ; a cita- 
del of law, of order, and of liberty ; and it is here — it is 
Jiere, in this exalted refuge — here, if any where, will resist- 
ance be made to the storms of political frenzy and the silent 
arts of corruption ; and if the Constitution be destined ever 
to perish by the sacrilegious hands of the demagogue or the 
usurper, which God avert, its expiring agonies will be wit- 
nessed on this floor. 

" He then adverted to those affecting sentiments which at- 
tended a final separation — a dissolution, pei'haps for ever, of 
those associations which he hoped had been mutually satisfac- 
tory. He consoled himself, however, and them, with the re- 
flection that, though they separated, they would be engaged 
in the common cause of disseminating principles of freedom 
and social order. He should always regard the proceedings 
of that body with interest and with solicitude. He should 
feel for their honor and the national honor so intimately con- 
nected with it, and took his leave with expressions of personal 
respect, and with prayers and wishes. 

"In this cold relation a distant reader, especially one to 
whom Colonel Burr is not personally known, will be at a loss 
to discover the cause of those extraordinary emotions which 
were excited. The whole Senate were in tears, and so un- 
manned that it was half an hour before they could recover 
themselves sufficiently to come to order, and choose a Vice- 
President 2'>'>'o tern. 

" At the President's, on Monday, two of the Senators were 
relating these circumstances to a circle which had collected 
round them. One said that he wished that the tradition 
might be preserved as one of the most extraordinary events 
he had ever witnessed. Another Senator being asked, on the 
day following that on which Mr. Burr took his leave, how long 
he was speaking, after a moment's pause, said he could form 
no idea ; it might have been an hour, and it might have been 
but a moment ; when he came to his senses, he seemed to 
have awakened as from a kind of trance. 



THE FUGITIVE. 377 

"The characteristics of the Vice-President's manner seemed 
to have been elevation and dignity — a consciousness of supe- 
riority. Nothing of that M'hining adulation ; those canting, 
hypocritical comjDlaints of want of talents ; assurance of his 
endeavors to please them ; hopes of their favor, etc. On the 
contrary, he told them explicitly that he had determined to 
pui'sue a conduct which his judgment should approve, and 
which should secure the suffrage of his own conscience, and 
that he had never considered who else might be pleased or 
displeased; although it was but justice on this occasion to 
thank them for their deference and respect to his official con- 
duct — the constant and uniform support he had received from 
every member — for their prompt acquiescence in his decis- 
ions ; and to remark, to their honor, that they had never de- 
scended to a single motion of passion or embarrassment ; and 
so far was he from apologizing for his defects, that he told 
them that, on reviewing the decisions he had had occasion to 
make, there was no one which, on reflection, he was disposed 
to vary or retract. 

"As soon as the Senate could compose themselves suffi- 
ciently to choose a President pro tern., they came to the fol- 
lowing resolution : 

" Resolved, unanimously. That the thanks of the Senate be 
presented to Aarofi JBicrr, in testimony of the impartiality, 
dignity, and ability, with which he has presided over their de- 
liberations, and of their entire approbation of his conduct in 
the discharge of the arduous and important duties assigned 
him as President of the Senate ; and that Mr. Smith, of Mary- 
land, and Mr. White, be a committee to wait on him with this 
resolution. 

" To which resolution Colonel Burr returned the folio wmg 
answer to the Senate : 

" Next to the satisfaction arising from a consciousness of 
having discharged my duty, is that which is derived from the 
approbation of those who have been the constant witnesses ol 
my conduct, and the value of this testimony of their esteem 
is greatly enhanced by the promptitude and unanimity with 
which it is offered. 



378 LIFK OF AARON BURR. 

" I pray yon to accept my respectful acknowlcilo-inents, and 
the assurance of my inviolable attachment to the interests anil 
dignity of the Senate." 

In remarking npon this report, Bnrr wrote: "It is true, 
that I made a talk, as was decent and proper, to the Senate 
on leaving- them formally. There was notliing written or pre- 
pared, except that it had been some days on my mind to say 
sometliing. It was the solemnity, the anxiety, the expecta- 
tion, and the interest which I saw strongly painted in tho 
countenances of the auditors, that inspired Avhatever was said. 
I neither shed tears nor assumed tenderness ; but tears did 
flow abundantly. The story in this newspaper is rather awk- 
Avardly and })onipously told. It has been gathered np, I pre- 
sume, from different relations of the facts. This newspaper 
has been for months past, and, for aught I know (for I read 
none of them), still is, one of tho most abusive against A. 
Burr." 

Some of the Senators were not long in regaining their com- 
posure ; for the usual resolution granting a perpetuity of tho 
franking privilege to the retiring Vice-President, Avas not 
passed unanimously — as such resolutions generally are. It 
was doubtful, for a time, whethei- it would pass at all ; but 
was tinally passed by a vote of 18 to 13. 

On the 4th of March, Jefl;erson, with the acclamations of a 
party, that was tlien almost the nation, was sworn, a second 
time, into the presidential office. George Clinton, the head of 
tho family whom Burr regarded as his chief enemies, became 
Vice-President. Aaron Burr vanished from the political arena, 
never to re-appear thereon, except in the persons of those 
whom he fornied and influenced, and througli whom, a quar- 
ter of a century later, he overturned the Virginian dynasty. 

During his absence at the South, Richniond Hill had been 
forced to a sale for twenty-flve thousand dollars, and the 
amomit appropriated to the payment of his debts. The sum 
realized was not enough ; he still owed between seven and 
eight thousand dollars in the city, for Avhich his person would 
be liable if he should appear there. A few thousands Mere 
owed to him, Avhich, as aflliirs then stood, could not be col- 



THE FUGITIVE. .3V9 

looted. Tlis library and wine wore still unsold. ProlKibly, 
if a Ijalancc had been struck, it would have been found that 
ho was about fivo thounand dollai-8 loss than Kolvent ; but, in 
olloct, he was worse off than that; for his debts were unequiv- 
ocal, his assets unavailable, bis income nothing, hij^ practice 
gone, his native and his adopted States both closed upon him 
He was what is commonly called a ruined man. 

" In New York," he wrote to his son-in-law, " I am to be 
disfranchised, and in New Jersey hanged. Having substan- 
tial objections to both, f shall not, for the present, hazard 
eithei-, but shall seek another country. You will not, from 
tliis, conclude that I have become passive, or disposed to sub- 
mit tamely to the machinations of a banditti. If you should 

you would greatly err. and his clan affect to deplore, 

but secretly rejoice at and stimulate the villainies of all sorts 
which are practiced againit me. Their alarm and anxiety, 
hovvevei-, are palpable to a degree perfectly ridiculous. Their 
awkward attempt to propitiate reminds one of the Indian 
woi'ship of the evil spii'it, God bless you ever," 

He was full of confidence itj himself and hope for the future. 
Many of his old friends went from New York to Phila,delphia 
on purpose to visit him, after his return from Washirjgton, 
and they found him tlie same gay, busy, indomitable Jiurr 
they had known in the palmiest days of his past career. 

What next, then ? Ay, What next V 

Kveiy lover of gossip in the United States, or, in other 
words, (iVi'vy sane inhabitant of the United States, was asking 
this question in the sprirjg of 1805. What will Burr do now? 
Where will he go ? For ten years past, he had lilled a large 
place in the jiublic view, and recent events had fixed all eyes 
upon him. In every [>af*t of the C50untry, he bad strong per- 
sonal friends, men who had supported and worked hard for 
him in hotly-contested campaigns — women who had loved his 
l>lack eyes, and thought him a knight without fear and with- 
out repr<^ach. His portrait hung upon walls, his bust stood 
upon mantels. Always a man of whom anecdotes were told, 
he was now the subject of a thousand preposterous rumors, 
and the hero of a thousand groundless or exaggerated tales. 



oSO LIFE OF AARON BURR. 

ITe was rogarclo(l as a inysfen'otis boincj, n man of unfathom- 
able purposos, and able to bond all thing's and persons to his 
will. The public mind was prepared to believe any thing of 
Burr, provided only that it Avas suffieiently incredible! 

The reader is entreated to give due consideration to the fact 
I'ust mentioned, for it is a clew wliich may guide us through 
the laybrinth we are about to attempt. I have groped in it 
long, as others have before me. It is tortuous and heaped 
with falsehoods, as surely no other ' passage' of history ever was 
before. I invite the reader to enter, and follow the path which 
lead me to — what looks like daylight. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

HE SEEKS A NEW COUNTET. 

LorreiAWA Otteb — Bcp.E'fi Fbie^ds t.v the Wkstbes Cocktet — Gbneeai, ■Wir,Kr!«B03r 
— TiiB Oeeat Weht is )8i)J> — Kitke ookh Wkw — Nakeativb of Matt/ikw 
Lyow^TjiJi VoYAOE oown the Ohio — KLKunzzuAHnKTi Ihuahv — Geasd Jie- 
CEiTiojr AT NAfiHvri,j,K — Aeeival ijc New Oelean* — New Oeleaxb thesc — 
Ifi« Life theee — liKTr-BS Kastwaed — Buee buspbcted bv the Spamaeds — 

JOt'EXEy THEOIJfJH KeNTUCKV — LeITEE OF ClAEK 10 WlLK/KR'^S — IWTEKVIEW 

Between Wilkixbo.v am> Bcee — MyfeTEEioufs L^ttee feom Bl'ee to Wilkix- 

BOS — COEEESPO.vriEXCE BETWEEN BCRE AKD Bi.EWJfEKHAftSETT — I.VTEBVIEW B*- 
TWEEK BCEE ASI> JeFFEESOS — Fl'ETUEB BpASUSU AG«EB»BJ0>'B. 

On Monday the 29th of December, 1803, at noon, the tn- 
colored flag of France, which floated flom the staff' in the 
public square of Xe\v Orleans, and upon which tlie eyes of 
expectant thousands were fixed, began to descend. At the 
same moment, the stars and stripes of the American Union 
appeared above the crowd, and slowly mounted the staff 
Midway, the two standards met, and, for a minute or two, 
were lost in each other's friendly folds. Then, amid the thun- 
ders of cannon, the music of Hail Columbia, the cheers of the 
spectators, the waving of handkerchiefs and banners, the tri- 
color continued its descent to the ground, and the flag of the 
United States soared rapidly aloft, and flung out its folds to 
the Ijreeze on the summit of the mast. 

Louisiana was ours ! The mouths of the Mississippi were 
free ! The prosperity of the great valley was secure ! The 
tide of emigration, for sixteen years held in check by the in- 
tolerance of the Spaniards, was now free to pour itself into 
the most productive region of the earth ! The insolence of 
the Dons, whom every western man had learned to despise 
and detest, was signally rebuked ! 

Colonel Burr, now without a country, was one of the thou- 
sands who were looking westward, as the scene of a new 



382 LIFB OP AABON BURR. 

career. He was resolved, at least, to see the region which 
seemed to present to men of energy such boundless opportu- 
nities. He had many friends at the West — old army acquaint- 
ances, members of Congress with whom he had acted, Senators 
over whom he had presided. In 1796, when the Federalists 
had delayed the admission of Tennessee hito the Union, Burr 
had been zealous in her cause, and thereby won great popu- 
larity in the new State. Geneial Jackson had appeared on 
the scene as her representative in Congress ; " a tall, lank, un- 
couth-looking personage, with long locks of hair hanging over 
his face, and a queue down his back tied in an eel-skin ; his dress 
singular, his manners and deportment those of a rough back- 
woodsman."* Witii him, it was natural that Burr should be- 
come intimffee. Dayton, formerly Speaker of the House, 
recently a Senator from New Jersey, a near relative of Burr's 
old Eiizabethtown friend, Matthew Ogden, went westward in 
the spring of 1805. John Smith, a selt-made man of spirit 
and talent, lately a Senator from Ohio, now one of the chief 
men of that vigorous young State, was another of Burr's 
friends. Matthew Lyon, a noted ultra Democrat of that day, 
wiio had been estranged from Burr during- the two intrigues 
of 180], but was now well-disposed toward him because he 
thought him a persecuted man, had also removed to the far 
West. All over the valley of the Mississippi, there Avere men 
who resented the late proceedings in New York and New 
Jersey, and wei-e ready to go all lengths in showing respect 
to a man whom they regarded in tlie light of a martyr to 
Federal machinations and puritanic bigotry. 

Burr's oldest friend in the West was General Wilkinson 
connnander-in-chief of the army, and recently appointed Gov 
ernor of Louisiana. Wilkinson and Burr had climbed to 
gether the heights of Quebec, and formed, amid those scenes 
the friendship which fellow-soldiers know. They had seldom 
met since, but had corresponded, conlidentially and in cipher, 
at intervals, for many years. Li 1787, Wilkinson had emi- 
grated to New Orleans, then a Spanish port, where, till 1791, 

* Recollections of Albert Gallatin, quoted by Mr. Hildredth in his History 

of the United States. 



i 



HE SEEKS A NEW COUNTflT. 383 

he had traded in tobacco, a subject, by residence, of the King 
of Spain, Not prospering in trade, he resumed his military- 
career in 1Y91, and obtained command of the western posts. 

The character of this man was not unblemished. It is cer- 
tain that he was extravagant, fond of the table, fond of show, 
boastful, and otherwise weak. It was Wilkinson, the reader 
may remember, wlio, as aid-de-camp to Gates in 1777, blabbed 
to Lord Stirling an expression used by Conway to Gates, dis-_ 
paraging the generalship of Washington, which led to Con- 
way's ruin, and to much other embarrassment and difficulty. 
There is strong (but not convincing) evidence, that while hold- 
ing a commission in the American army, he had been a pen- 
sioner of the King of Spain, There was a party in the West, 
in 1796, who favored a separation of the western States from 
the Union, Wilkinson was of that party, and had dreams of 
leading the revolt, and becoming, to use his own words, " the 
Washington of the West," The Spanish viceroy favored a 
project calculated to weaken a neiglibor that was growing 
portentously powerful, and of whom the home government 
was beginning to stand in dread. Unless the evidence on this 
point is flat perjury (which, indeed, it may be), Wilkinson was 
paid by the Spanish to promote the scheme, and drew up, for 
the viceroy, a list of the leading citizens of Kentucky known 
to be disafiected to the Union, who, he thought, would also 
accept money for the same purpose, Daniel Clark swears 
that he saw this list in Wilkinson's hand-writing, and that 
Wilkinson confessed, in effect, that he had been himself a 
pensioner.* 

The reader must be reminded that, during the administra- 
tion of John Adams, the Union, to backwoodsmen, had- not 
the saared charm it has -since possessed. The noise of party 
contention filled the land. The Union, as Wilkinson himself 

* There is a portrait of General "Wilkinsoa in the Hall of Independence 
at Philadelphia, which represents him as a portly, red-faced individual, 
dressed in the blue and yellow uniform of the Revolution. The portrait con- 
firms the impression, derived from the writings of the time, that he was a 
hon vivant, merry, extravagant, boastful — the last man for a conspirator, 
though of easy virtue enough. 



084 LIFE or AAEON BURR. 

said, seemed to hang together by a thread, which any mo- 
ment might break. Western men could not but speculate 
upon the effect a disruption would have upon their own polit- 
ical condition. Wilkinson may have thought of hastening the 
catastrophe, of founding a western republic, and of becom- 
ing its Washington, without being, in any sense of the word, 
a traitor. 

Nor, in 1805, was the great West quite content. The ac- 
quisition of Louisiana had reduced the malcontents to a very 
inconsiderable minority, but there were still those who were 
dissatisfied with the monopolizing of the great federal offices 
by the politicians of the East, and who thought it absurd and 
undesirable to be connected with a government whose capital 
was a two months' journey distant. Nine tenths of the people, 
however, though tiiey may all have grumbled a little, were 
attached to the Union, were proud of its President, were fer- 
vently devoted to the democratic ideas which he had made 
familiar to their minds. 

And now Aaron Burr was to traverse this magnificent do- 
main. A variety of projects lay half-formed in his mind — 
projects of land specuLation, of canal-making, of settling in 
some rising city of the West in the practice of the law, of be- 
ginning anew his political life as the representative of a new 
State in Congress. If more ambitious schemes agitated him, 
they were concealed ; neitlier in his diary, nor in his volumi- 
nous correspondence, published or unpublished, is there the 
slightest reference to any but ordinary and legitimate objects 
dunng the year 1805. The project of getting himself elected 
a member of Congress, was not, it seems, his own idea. On 
this point we have the testimony of Matthew Lyon, who, when 
all the world was excul^jating itself from participation inJBurr's 
plans, wrote a graphic narrative of certain events which pre- 
ceded Burr's departure for the land of pi'omise. Amid the 
heaps of dull, false, and semi-false statements which the events 
of the following year called forth, this narrative of a disinter- 
ested witness is particularly interesting. I quote the mate- 
rial part of Mr. Lyon's deposition : 

"Some time in the winter, 1805, coming one morning (to 



HE SEEKS A NEW COUNTliY. 385 

Washington) from Alexandria, by way of the navy-yard, and 
passing by the house where General Wilkinson lived, he called 
on inc to come in ; after congratulating him on his appoint- 
ment as governor, and some other conversation. Colonel Burr's 
name was mentioned. Colonel Burr had no claim to fri(!ndly 
attentions fro!n me. I had no acquaintance with him before 
the contest concerning the presidential election. I had re- 
sisted the solicitations of ray friends, who wished to introduce 
me to him in March, 1801, on account of his misconduct in 
that attair ; yet when I saw him persecuted for what I con- 
sidered no more than lair })lay among duelists, I advocated 
him ; this brought about an acquaintance, by no means inti- 
mate. In the course of the conversation between the general 
and myself, we regretted the loss of so much talent as Colonel 
Burr possessed ; we viewed him on the brink of a precipice, 
from which, in a few days, he must fall ; from the second sta- 
tion in the nation, he must fall to that of a private citizen. 

" The general entered warmly into his praise, and talked of 
a foreign embassy for him. This I assured him could not be 
obtained. The general then asked me if I could not think of 
something which would do for the little counselor ? I replied, 
that he might very readily become a member of the Congress, 
which was to meet the coming winter, and in the state of par- 
ties, considering the eclat with which he was likely to leave 
the Senate, he might very probably be Speaker. 

" The fjeneral was anxious to know how he could be elected 
to Congress. I explained. Let Colonel Burr mount his horse 
the 4th of March, and ride through Virginia to Tennessee, 
giving out that he intends settling at Nashville, in the practice 
of the law. Let him commence the practice, and fix himself 
a home there ; his renconter with General Hamilton will not 
injure him. Let him attend the courts in that district. Let 
him in July next intimate to some of the numerous friends (his 
preeminent talents and suavity of manners will have made for 
him) that he would willingly serve the district in Congress. 
They will set the thing on foot, and he is sure to be elected ; 
there is no constitutional bar in the way. 

" As I finished this explanation, the general rose, and, in a 

17 



386 LIFE OP AARON BUKK. 

seeming ecstasy, clapped his hands on my shoulders, exclaim- 
ing with an oath, ' This will do ! — it is a heavenly thousjjht — 
Avorthy of him who thought it !' He rang the bell, ordered 
his boots, and said he would go instantly and inform the little 
counselor, and would call on me in the House in the course of 
two or three hours. He did so, and informed me he had, at 
Colonel Burr's request, made an appointment for me to call 
on him. 

" I was punctual. Colonel Burr lived at Mr. Wheaton's, 
near the north side of Pennsylvania Avenue, not far from 
Rhoades's. It was in the evening. I knocked, or pulled the 
bell, several times, before a servant came, who informed me 
that Colonel Burr was not to be seen, he was engaged with 
company. I gave the servant my name, and directed him to 
go and tell Colonel Burr that I had called. Colonel Burr 
came, and invited me up stairs, and requested me to sit with 
Mrs. Wheaton half an hour, when he would be with me. In 
about three quarters of an hour he came, and ai^ologized for 
his delay. I observed to him that he had a large company, 
among whom I recognized the voices of Generals Wilkinson 
and Dayton, although I had not heard of the latter gent's 
being in town. I hoped he had not hurried himself from 
them on account of seeing me ; that I had been well enter- 
tained by Mr. and Mrs. Wheaton, and would have been so an 
hour or two longer, if he wished to remain with his company. 

" Colonel Burr said the meeting was about some land con- 
cern in the western country ; that they had gone as far as 
they could with it at that time ; my coming- had been no in- 
terruption ; he was very glad to see me, and soon commenced 
on the subject of the coming election 'in Tennessee. I re- 
peated what I said to General AVilkinson. He admitted the 
possibility of success in the course I pointed out ; but did 
not seem to be so much enamored with the project as General 
Wilkmson. He said he was obliged on the 4th of March to 
go to Philadelphia ; from thence he would go to Pittsburg, 
and thence to the western country by water. I offered him 
a passage in my boat from Pittsburg, if he should be there 
when I should have done my business on the Monongahela, 



II E SEEKS A NEW COUNTEi". 387 

and descended to Pittsburg. I assured him, however, all 
chance of obtaining the election in Tennessee, wouhl be jeop- 
ardised, if not lost, by such a delay. He told me he had 
ordered a boat prepared for him at Pittsburg, and he talked 
as if his business at Philadelphia was indispensable, as well as 
his voyage down the Ohio. 

" In stating this conversation, I give the substance of all 
the other conversations I had that winter with Colonel Burr, 
at Washington, except that, in some of them, the embassy was 
talked of. He oVjserved, that my friend Wilkinson thought I 
would be a proper person, in a blunt way, to mention it to tho 
President. He asked me, if I dared tell the President that 
he ought to send Colonel Burr on the foreign embassy talked 
of? I told him very bluntly, I would not." 

This ended the intercourse of the three friends in Wash- 
ington. Lyon started homeward. About the 10th of April, 
Colonel Burr»left Philadelphia for Pittsburg, where he arrived 
after nineteen days' riding. 

The boat which he had ordered was ready, and on the fol- 
lowing morning he found himself floating down the Ohio. Urn 
boat was a rude floating house, or ark, sixty feet long and 
fourteen wide, containing four apartments, a dining-room, a 
kitchen with fire-place, and two bed-rooms, all lighted by glass 
windows, and the whole covered by a roof, which served as a 
promenade deck. The cost of this commodious structure, he 
found, to hLs astonishment, was only a hundred and thirty- 
three dollars. Of propelling power it had none, but merely- 
floated down the swift and winding stream, aided occasion- 
ally, and kept clear of snags and sand-banks, by a dexterous 
use of the pole. In the spring, the current of the Oliio rushes 
along with surprising swiftness, carrying with it an ark or raft 
eight miles an hour. It would be a resistless torrent at that 
season but for its innumerable bends. Along its whole course, 
hills steep, picturesque, and lofty, rise almost from the bed of 
the river, and pour their streams headlong into it, whenever 
the rain falls or the snow melts. For hundreds and hundreds of 
miles, this most monotonously beautiful of rivers winds and coils 
itself about among those never-varying, seldom-receding hills. 



888 L 1 F IS OP A A K O N 15 U R K . 

f 

skirt Oil by a nftviHMV iVlngo of bottom laiuls, Thoso hills, soon 
to bo '' vino-oliul," ^vo^o then one tbvost ; thoso \>ottoins, now 
smiling with tiivms, or distiu'invd by tho shtvbbiost of towns 
aj\d villages, Avore then vlestituto of inhnbitHnts, for lunulreds 
of mil OS at a strotoh. 

Colonol l^urrwas always a switV travolor. Lyon had nearly 
two davs' start, but was overtaken bv him in a day and a half. 
Tho two \>oais, in the soeial fashion oi' the time, were then 
lashed tog-ether, and tloated in oompany for fonr days. Passed 
Wheeling on the 8d i»f April, a neat, pretty village, of sixty 
or eighty houses; where Burr observed several well-drevssed . 
won\en, who had the air of fashion and movements oC *\v>>'< 
othet';^ on the ooast." Passevl -Marietta on the 5th ; where he 
Siuv houses that would be oalled handsome aiiywheiv. The 
leading gentlemen oi' the plaee oalled lo otfer eivilities and 
hospitalities. The voyagers all walked several miles to see tho 
moun<ls and other antiquities near Marietta, whi»h quite ]>uz- 
/.led the voyager in chief — as they have wiser men. At Mari- 
etta the two boats parted eonipany, and Burr continued lus 
voyage alone. 

A few miles below Marietta, is tlie far-famed Hlennerhassett 
IslaiuL It is an island nearly three miles long, but so narrow 
that it contains h\ss than three hundred acres of land. The 
river on each side is narrow enough to admit o( convers:\tion 
between the island and the sliore. Bevond the river, on each 
side of it, swell alotl, like dark clouds, the picturesque hills of 
the Ohio, forest-covered and forest-crowned, shutting in the 
little island from all the world. Here it was that llnrman 
lilenuerhas^sett, an eccentric, romantic, idle, ' sliitt less' Irish- 
man, had contrived to expend forty thousand dollars (nearly 
all his fortune) in building a house of original ugliness, and in 
laving out grounds remotelv resembling those of country 
l\ouses in the old country. The picture of this celebrated 
mansion suggests, to one who has not read Mr. ^Yirt's oration 
upon it, the idea of a semicircular barracks. A fair-sixed, 
very vhwn, two story wooden house, with curved wing's of one 
story, the front connected into a wl\ole by a piaxza — is tho 
brief description of this celebrated abode. The senncircular 



HE SEEKS A NEW COUNTRY. 389 

I 

front was one hundred and four feet from tip to tip. A lawn 
Burrounded with trees and encircled by a carriage road, lay in 
front of the house. Further off there were gardens, groves, 
fields, and bits of primeval wilderness ; the whole forming a 
pleasant, but by no means a very sumptuous or beautiful, resi- 
dence. After spending eight years in subduing the island 
wilderness, Mr, Blennerhassett still saw his work incomplete, 
and, what was worse, he was beginning to catch glimpses of 
the end of his purse. 

Colonel Burr had heard vaguely that some eccentric for- 
eigner lived upon this island, and, from curiosity only, landed, 
and moored his floating home to the shore. Learning that 
the lord of the isle was absent, he and his companion strolled 
about the grounds awhile, and was about leaving when Mrs. 
Blennerhassett sent a servant to invite the strangers to the 
house, as her husband would soon return. Burr replied by 
sending his card, and declining the invitation, as he said curi- 
osity alone had induced him to land. The lady, upon learning 
the name of the stranger, came out to see him, and so press- 
ingly invited him to stay, that he yielded, dined with the 
family, conversed with them till eleven in the evening, and 
then continued his voyage. Mrs. Blennerhassett was an ener- 
getic, accomplished, amiable woman, but not remarkable for 
beauty or style. She was exceedingly pleased with her visitor, 
and remained his fast, admiring friend, through all the long 
series of events that followed this first interview. Her hus- 
band was equally captivated. 

Three hundrfd miles below is Cincinnati, then a town of 
fifteen hundred inhabitants (now two hundred thousand), 
which he reached in six days' floating. There he spent a day 
at the house of ex-Senator John Smith, and met his friend Day- 
ton, whose fortunes were to be bound up with his owti. From 
the chief people of the place, he received the attentions which 
had greeted him everywhere west of the Alleghanies. 

At Louisville, then called the Falls of the Ohio, he again 
overtook Matthew Lyon. "There," continues Mr. Lyon, "I 
repeated to him that the delay he had made had ruined his 
prospect of election, as that prospect depended solely on 



390 LIFE OF AARON BURR. 

domestication. At the falls, he changed his flat for a small 
boat, which he ordered to Eddyville (where I live), and rode 
to Nashville. 

" The newspapers described his arrival and reception there 
as one of the most magnificent pai-ades that had ever been 
made at that place They contained lists of toasts, and great 
dinners given in honor of Colonel Burr, every body at and 
near Nashville seeming to be contending for the honor of hav- 
ing best treated or served Colonel Burr. 

" This I had expected ; and when Colonel Burr called on 
me, on his way from Nashville to his boat, I inquired if any 
thing had been said about the election. He answered, ' Not 
one word.' I observed that he ought to think no more of it. 
In answer, he said he had little doubt of being elected delegate 
from Orleans Territory, but he would choose to be a member, 
and insisted that I should write to a friend of mine (who had 
paid him the most marked attention) to see if the thing could 
be yet set afloat, and to inform him he would be a resident in 
Tennessee. At the time of the election, he requested me to 
communicate the answer to him at Natchez. I complied with 
his wishes, the answer I received being unfavorable to him," 

Mr. Lyon adds, that what he did for Colonel Burr in the 
election, was done chiefly to oblige General Wilkinson. Being 
asked whether, in his opinion. Burr was sincere in desiring an 
election, Lyon replied : " No doubt he would have been sin- 
cerely rejoiced to have been elected." But he added, " There 
seemed too much mystery in his conduct. I susj^ected him to 
nave other objects in view, through which I could not pene- 
trate. These objects I then believed were known to General 
Wilkinson." 

At Nashville, he was the guest of General Jackson, " one 
of those prompt, frank, ardent souls whom I love to meet," 
said Burr. He staid four days at Nashville. On the 3d of 
June, in an open boat provided by the general, he and his 
companion-secretary embarked ; and floated down the Cum- 
berland, two hundred and twenty miles, to its mouth, where 
they found the ark, and resumed their voyage down the Ohio. 

Sixteen miles below the mouth of the Cumberland was Fort 



HE SEEKS A NEW COUNTRY. 391 

Massac, a place of renown in the olden time, long one of the 
outposts of civilization. There he found General Wilkinson, 
on his way to his government, and spent four days with him. 
The subjects of their conferences at this time, Wilkinson says, 
were perfectly legitimate. Himself, Burr, Dayton, and others, 
he declares, were deep in the project of making a canal round 
the rapids of the Ohio, at Louisville ; and this was much dis- 
cussed between them whenever they met. Land speculations 
were also talked of, and, more than all, the scheme of getting 
Burr into Congress. Wilkinson gave him letters of introduc- 
tion to his friends in New Orleans, and, to expedite his voy- 
age, fitted him out "an elegant barge, sails, colors, and ten 
oars, with a sergeant and ten able, faithful hands." 

The eight hundred miles from Fort Massac to Natchez, 
were accomplished in seven days. " Natchez," he wrote to 
his daughter, " is a town of three or four hundred houses ; the 
inhabitants traders and mechanics, but surrounded by wealthy 
planters, among whom I have been entertained with great 
hospitality and taste. These planters are, many of them, men 
of education and refinement ; live as well as yours, and have 
generally better houses. We are now going through a settled 
country, and during the residue of my voyage to New Or- 
leans, about three hundred miles, I shall take breakfast and 
dinner each day at the house of some gentleman on shore. I 
take no letters of introduction ; but, whenever I hear of any 
gentleman whose acquaintance or hospitalities I should desire, 
I send word that I am coming to see him, and have always 
met a most cordial reception." 

June the 25th, sixty-seven days after leaving Philadelphia, 
the voyager, whose occasional delays had been more' than 
made up by his rapidity when in motion, landed on the levee 
of New Orleans. He was strongly prepossessed in favor of 
the place. " I hear so many pleasant things of Orleans," h 
wrote to his daughter, " that I should certainly (if one half of 
them are verified on inspection) settle down there, were it not 
for Theodosia and her boy ; but these will control my fateP 

The city then contained about nine thousand inhabitants. 
Three hundred sea-going vessels, and six himdred river flat- 



3!)2 LIFE OF AARON BURR. 

boats arrived annually at its levees. Four forts, one at eacn 
angle of the city, half a mile apart, defended the city. Two 
of these were regularly-constructed fortresses, with fosse, 
glacis, and drawbridge. The two behind the city were stock- 
ades. Since the dei)arture of the Spaniards these fortifications 
had been partly dismantled, but were capable, in a few weeks, 
of being restored to their original strength.* In 1805, the 

* Tho following is a description of Now Orleans under Spanish rule, from 
a"Jom'aal of a Tour in Unsettled parts of North America in 1796 and 
1797," by tho lato Francis BaUy, F.R.S. It partly explains the hatred of the 
Spaniards which i)revailed in the western country in the early time: "Their 
houses are generally built of wood, and boarded very plaui in tho inside, and 
made very open, that there may be a free circulation of air ; consequently 
they avoid all the inconvenience and expense of j)aper, carpets, tires, cur- 
tains, and hangings of diflbrent kinds. Tho bedrooms are fitted up in the 
same plain style, and arc furnished with nothing but a hard-stuffed bed, raised 
very much in i\iQ middle, and covered with a clean, white sheet; and over 
the whole there is a largo gauze net (called a lar), which is intended as a de- 
fense against the mosqviitoes, and serves tolerably well to keep olf those tor- 
menting creatures. On this sheet (spread upon the bed, and under the net) 
you lie down without any other covering, and (if it bo summer-time) with tho 
doors and windows open, so iutolerablo is the heat of the climate. During 
several days when I was here, the thermometer was at 11 7 ° in the shade. 
The dress of tho inhabitants is also correspondent to the furniture of their 
houses: being clothed in tho lightest manner possible, and every one in the 
maimer which pleases him best, there is not (in these new countries) that 
strange propensity to ridicule every one who deviates from the forms which 
a more established society may have prescribed to itself; but every one, in 
this respect, ' doeth that which is right in his own eyes.' Some will wear the 
short linen jacket of the Americans , others, the long flowing gown, or the 
cloak of tho Spaniards; some, the open trousers and naked collar; others, the 
more modem dross, of tight pantaloons and large cravats ; some, with the 
■white or black chip hat; others, with the beaver im^ feathers, after the man- 
ner of tho Spaniards : and so in respect to all other minutiaj of dress. * * * 
There is but ono printing press in the place, and that is made use of by the 
government only. The Spanish government is too jealous to suffer the inhab- 
itants to have tho free exercise of it ; for, however strange it may appear, yet 
it is absolutely true that you can not oven stick a paper against the waU 
(either to recover any thing lost, or to advertise any thing for sale) without 
its first having the signature of the governor, or his secretarj'- attached to it : 
and on all those little bills which are stuck up at tho cora ts of the streets 
you see the word ' Permitted' written hy the governor or his agent. * * * 
As to tho diversions of the place, they consist principally in billiards, of which 



HE SEEKS A NEW COUNTRY. 3P3 

chief defense of the place was a volunteer corps of Americans 
and Creoles, commanded by Daniel Clark, the great merchant 
of the city, the founder of that prodigious fortune for which 
his daughter, Mrs. Gaines, has so long contended in the 
courts, 

Daniel Clark had emigrated from England in 1*786, and had 
grown in wealth with the ever-growing prosperity of the city. 
He had been ardent for the transfer of the province to the 
United States, was now the leader of the American party 
in 'Kew Orleans, and seemed to be a zealous friend of the 
Union. To him Colonel Burr presented the following letter 
of introduction from General Wilkinson : 

" My Deae Sir : This will be delivered to you by Colonel 
Burr, whose worth you know well how to estimate. If the 
persecutions of a great and honorable man can give title to 
generous attentions, he has claims to all your civilities and all 
your services. You can not oblige me more than by such 
conduct, and I pledge my life to you it will not be misapplied. 
To him I refer you for many things improper to letter, and 
which he will not say to any other. I shall be at St. Louis 
in two weeks, and if you were there, we could open a mine, a 
commercial one at least. Let me hear from you. Farewell, 
do well, and believe me always your friend." 

This epistle produced the effect desired. Burr became inti- 
mate with Clark, as with all the important persons of the 
place. He was received everywhere as t/te great man ! Gov- 
ernor Claiborne (governor of Oilcans Territory) gave him a 
grand dinner, which was attended by as distinguished a com- 
pany as Xew Orleans could assemble. Banquet followed 

there are Bevc-ral tables in 4;li6 town. This practice I presume they have 
adopted from the Americans, who (in the southern part of that continent) 
follow this amusement very much. They have a playhouse, which is rather 
small. It consists of one row of boxes only, with an amphithoater in the 
middle, which is raised above the pit, and over the whole there is a gallery. 
The plays are performed in French, and they have a tolerable set of actors. 
The inhabitants are also musical, but this lies chiefly among the French. 
The gentlemen of the place often perform in the orchestra of the theater : in 
fact, there is no other music there but such as thev obtain in this voluntarr 
wav." 

17* 



394 LIFE OF AARON BURR. 

banquet ; fSte succeeded fete ; ball followed ball. The French 
air that survonndcd every thing, the French manner and tone 
of society, were as pleasing as they were novel to the traveler. 
The days flew swiftly by. A la Sante Madame Alston, was 
the first toast at nearly every table. Even the Ursuline nuns 
sent him an address congratulating him upon his arrival ; and, 
upon their receiving his polite reply, an invitation to visit 
their convent. lie went, "The bishop conducted me to the 
cloister. We conversed, at first, through the grates; but 
presently I was admitted Avithin, and I passed an hour with 
them, greatly to my satisfaction. None of that calm monot- 
ony which I expected. All was gayety, ^oit, and sprightliness. 
* * * At parting, I asked them to remember me in their 
prayers, which they all promised with great promptness and 
courtesy." 

If Burr ever meant to settle at the West, in the practice of 
the law, it was this banqueting and lionizing, in my opinion, 
which made it (morally) impossible for him to execute that 
intention. Pie should have resolutely declined to appear in 
the West as a great personage. How could a man of Burr's 
cast of character, afler figuring at the head of cavalcades, after 
shining at balls and banquets, the observed of all observers, 
smiled upon by ladies, toasted, cheered, and followed by men 
— how could he take a little oflice at Nashville or New Or- 
leans, hang out a little tin sign, and subside into an ordinary 
attorney and counselor at law ? A wise man could. But who 
is wise ? There is no position in human life more embarrass- 
ing, or more likely to be corrujiting, than that of a man who 
is compelled to move in the conspicuous and costly spheres 
without possessing the requisite sum per anmcni ! To be a 
poor .man is nothing — is the lot of nearly all the men that 
live. But a crownless Jdng, a penniless prince, an ex- Vice- 
President, without home, country, emi)loyment, income — 
these are pitiable persons. They are dangerous, too. It is 
such who plan Boulogne expeditions, usurp thrones, start mad 
enterprises, and turn the world upside down. 

Burr staid three weeks in New Orleans. Wilkinson said in 
his letter of introduction, that Biut would make communica- 



HE SEEKS A NEW COUNTRY. 395 

tions to Clark which were " improper to letter.'''' Wliat were 
they? Burr was not a person to waste three weeks in mere 
feasting and playing the great man. Wherever he was, what- 
ever he was, he was busy. He had tlie quickest, most active 
mind that ever animated five feet six inches of mortality. It 
is certain that he did something at New Orleans during those 
three weeks. What ? 

The question has been answered, first, by Wilkinson in his 
ponderous Memoirs ; secondly, by Clark in his angry octavo, 
entitled, '•'•Proofs of the Corruption of General James Wil- 
kinson, and of his Connection with Aaron JBurr / tliirdly, by 
Matthew L. Davis, speaking for Burr himself. Wilkinson 
says the reference in his letter of introduction, was simply to 
the election scheme. Clark declares that Jiurr confided noth- 
ing to liim whatever. He says he liked Burr exceedingly, in- 
vited him -to dinner, showed him every possible civility, but 
had not a syllable of confidential conversation with him. In 
the most positive and circumstantial manner, he denies that 
he had then, or ever had, any ])ai-ticipation in, or knowledge 
of. Burr's designs.* Davis, on the contj-ary, asserts that Clark 
and Wilkinson were both ardently engaged with Burr; and 
that Clark agreed to advance fifty thousand dollars in further- 
ance of the great project. Other fiiends of Burr say that 

* Clark's own comments on Wilkinson's letter are as follows: " Tlio things 
which it was improper to letier to mo are pretty plainly expressed in a com- 
munication made about the same time (by Wilkinson) to General Adair. Tho 
letter is dated, Rapids of Ohio, Mny 28th, 1805, 11 o'clock, and contains theso 
expressions : — 'I was to have introduced my friend Burr to you, but in this 
I failed by accident. He understands your merits, and reckons on you. Re- 
pair to me and I will tell you all. Wo must have a peep at tho unknown 
world beyond mo.' Tho letter to me I tliink fully proves that somo secret 
plan of Burr's was known to Wilkinson in May, 1805. That to General 
Adair leaves no doubt on the subject. Iramcdi.atcly after this ho went to St. 
Louis, where his very first act, before he had broken bread in tho territory, 
was an endeavor to bring Major Brulf into his plans. Ho teOs him that ho 
had a ^ grand scJieme,' that 'would make the fortunes of all concerned ;' and 
though Major BrufTs manner of receiving this overture put a stop to any fur- 
ther disclosure, yet we may judge of its nature, for it was introduced by a 
pliilippic against democracy, and tho ingratitude of republican govern- 
ments." 



306 I.IFIC OV AAUON IM'K'K.. 

Chirk mado \\\o vov:)ut>s [o Vvr.x Cvw/., to s]>y out tho ouo- 
my's country, (.'lark admits l\avin<j; uiado tho vova<;os (one 
in SoptiMubtM-, 1805, tlu> othor in Fobruary, 1800) ; adjuits 
IiaviuLi; c'oIKH'ti>d iut'onuatiou in IMoxioo rospoctiuo- \\\o 
Ktronj^tli o\' tlu" t'oitrcssos, llu> niuubor ol' tho garrisons, and 
tho disposition ol'thi' iH'opU' ; but assorts tliat his voyagos had 
nono but (H>ninu>roial objoots, and that l>is innuirios Avoro only 
ju'oniptoil by curiosity. A witness doposod to having hoard 
Chirk say, that ho wouhl williugly join in a private sohonio 
for tho oc^upiost of IVfoxioo, provided tho advent urors 0(>uld 
turn their backs for ever on the United JStatos. " You, for 
e\aniph\ might bo a dukt*," was one oxprossitm Mliich tho 
witness swore lie Iiad lioard Clark use in the course ol' tho 
same ci>nversation. 

Tht' dilliculty ol" ani\ lug at certainly on tliis subject arises 
iVoni tlio fact, that n\ost o\' the existing evidence was given 
qfhr tho exph^sion ! Iti was amusing, says l>urnot (in liis 
"Notes"), to see men who /)(;/(>/•(• tho Presi(h'ut\s proclama- 
tion a[)pearod, had boon Kmdost in Burr's j^aises, and deepest 
in hivS vschenios, niaking haste, after that bolt liad sliiverod tlio 
pri>jt>ct to atoms, to (K'nouncc tho traitor at every corner, .and 
running to olVer their services to tlio governor in dot'enso oi' a 
distracted and im|HM-iled country. 

INIy own inip)r!^sio>i, al\er reading all the procurabh^ docu- 
Tuents, is, that neither Clark nor Wilkinson were really em- 
barked in Hurr's I\[exioan scheme ; thi>ugh both, up lo a cer- 
tain point, may havt> favored it. Nor do I think that, during 
this visit to New Orleans, Uurr hinisi'lf did more than eoUoct 
information, and cast a very wistful eye aeross the river to tho 
dom.ain ot"th(> hated Spaniards, who still held tho western bank 
ot'tho Mississippi. Of all the men in the territory, Clark and 
Wilkinson were tho best informed respeeling the atVairs of 
JNlexico. Uoth had traded with tho Dojis. Wilkinson, for 
m.any a year, had indulged the dream oC leading .an army lo 
tho capital of the Moi\h>zumas, and had matlo minute inquiries 
respecting the routes. All those stores oi' iniormation wore 
freely poured into the i>ar of a man fond of advonturo, hubitu 
atoti tt'> (iistiuction, .and destilute of resources. 



n K S K K IC S A N 10 W C O [I N 'I' It T . 397 

Tie could Hce for himscilf that the iw, wliidi Itoimd tlio prov- 
ince of LouiHiana to the Union was not strong. 'IMic r'i'ciKih 
j»oj)iilati<)ii, who had for a lew inoiilhs ciijoyfid a reunion wil.h 
their inolher (country, and had hoped tliat lliat i"(!iuiion would 
he per[)etual, nusrely acquicHccid in the recent cession. 'I'lie 
Spaniards couhl not j^ive up the hope of regaining th(; jtrov- 
ince. 

Sixty years hefon;, tlic; map of wliat is now the ITnitcd 
States, r(!fle(;ted gh>ry (chiefly U[)on tlu; S[)anisli name. Kxce|tt 
that ah>ng the Atlantic coast there aj)peared a narrow red 
stripe denoting the British colonies, that map was one ex- 
panse of green, the northern part of which was called Canada, 
the southern, Louisiana; and the whole was claimed by the 
French. A few years lat(^r, the lattfir province, eirdtivacing tho 
most productive [>art of the valley of the Mississi]>pi, and tho 
mouth of the river, upon which the value of all the rest de- 
l^ended, was ceded to Spain. After half a century oC possefl- 
fiion, the Spaniards had lost all their domain east of this river, 
but still hoj)ed that the next KiM'opean peac(! would give'it 
Ijack to them. Some o( the Sjianish officials remain(;d in N(!W 
Orleans for eighteen months alter tho cession, in expectation 
of that event. 

'^I'lie American population, composed chjefly of young, ad- 
venturous men, had taken some underage at the cc^ntral gov- 
ernment, and Jiurr must have heai'd expressions of this during 
liis stay. 

Toward the close of July, ho bade farewell to his frieiuls in 
New Orleans, promising to return to them ere long. To as- 
cend those great rivers of the south-west was scarcely possible 
at that day. Daniel Clark furnished him with two hoi'ses, and 
a servant to biing them back, who attended him as far as 
Natchez. In the gay society of that place, he lingered a 
week ; then, taking a guide, [dunged into the dreary wilder- 
ness that lay between Natchez and Nashville, a distance of 
four lnn;dred and fifty miles. The f>ath, where there was a 
jiatli, was a liimous Indian trail, which w(;und around stagnant 
lakes, along sluggish streams, and through dismal swamps. 
At certain seasons, it was infested l»y robbers who used to lay 



398 LIFE OF AAKON BURK. 

in wait for boatmen returning to the Ohio haden with the pro- 
ceeds of their last voYago to New Orleans, llred and worn 
with this miserable jonruey, performed in the hottest season 
of the year, the traveler reached Nashville on the 6th of 
August, and was once more doniieiled with General Jackson. 

Acain, he was overwhelmed with attentionts. Ho was com- 
plimented, too, with a public dinner, which was attended by 
all that Nashville could boast of distinction and talent. 

He remained a week at the generars hospitable mansion. 
A two weeks' tour in Kentucky followed, during which, be- 
sides traversing another wilderness of a hundred and tifty 
miles, he visited Louisville, Frankfort, and Lexington, at all 
of which he was entertained with fatal distinction. He formed 
an acquaintance with Henry Clay, then in the dawn of his 
renown. Clay was strongly attracted to a man whom he, in 
common with most western men, regarded as the victim of 
pei'seoution, and whose talents he admired. 

It Avaii during this very tour in Kentucky that the antijiathy 
of the men of the West to their Spanish neighbors was kindled 
to fvu-y by what is known as the " Kemper difficulty." l>aton 
Kouge, tliough chietly inhabited by Americans, was still held 
and garrisoned by Spaniards. The Americans, iu the course 
of that sununer, had formed a plot to '' shake ott' the Spanish 
yoke," anil to annex themselves to their countrymen on the 
other side of the Mississippi. For want of a comiK^ent leader, 
the plot failed, and the Spaniards, with their usual stupidity, 
were eager, not to conciliate, but to punish the "rebels." 
The three brotliers Kem}>er, who had been the leading spirits 
of the rebellion, tied to the American side, where they estab- 
lished themselves. In their own houses, at midnight, they 
were seized by a party of Spanish troops, and conveyed across 
the line. They were soon re-captured ; but this impudent 
violation of American soil touched the pride of the border 
States keenly, and it was while every man was breathing out 
threatenings and slaughter against the insolent Dons, that 
Burr was traversing those States. It' the/iy he had done what 
next year he attempteil, the issue might have been ditlerent 
— could not but have been different. 



111., r,lCKKH A N li H' COVNTUY. 'iii'J 

Meanwhile, tlio irnpreH«ion avoHa tliat liavi'^n presence in the 
WeKt had Kornethiiig to do with thene Bpaninh trouhlen, and a 
rumor to tliat aiYitcX hoou found itH way U) tlie Spanish autfior- 
itien, wJio Ktill fjad prinonei-K on the Amei'iean tioil, Septem- 
ber 7th, we find lJani<;l Clark writing to General Wilkinhon, 
a hitter upon tfje Kuhject, That epistle ha« been thought a 
maKter-piece of diHsernbling. 'I'he reader rmty tjy hi« pene- 
♦iration upon it: 

" Many absurd and wild reports are circulated lic.ra, and 
have reached the earn of the oflicerB of the late Spanish gov- 
ernment, respecting our ex-Vioc-President. You are Kpoken 
of a8 })is right-hand man, and even I am now Hupposed to be 
of cjriKequence enough to combine with Generals and Vicyd- 
Presidents, At any othei- tifMe but the }>reHent, I should amuse 
myself vastly at the folly and fears of those who are affed/Cd 
with these idle tales ; but being on the point of setting off for 
Vei'a CruK, on a large mercantile speculation, I feel cursedly 
hurt at the rumors, and might, in consequence of Spanish jeal- 
ousy, get into a hobble I could not easily get out of, Entre 
nous, 1 believe tliat Minor, of Natchez, has a great part in this 
lousiness, to make hims<jlf of iujportarjce. He is in the pay of 
Sfjain, and wishes to convince them he in much their friend. 
I'his is, Jiowever, a matter of su/picion on my part, but the 
channel througlj which the information rea/;hed me, makes me 
sijjj)>os<j it. I'ower, whose head is always stuffed with jJots, 
jH'ojects, c<'»nspira<;ies, etc., etc., etc., and who sees objects 
through a mill-st<me, in going to Natchez, next week, to un- 
ravel the whole of thii? extra^^rdinary business, and then God 
iiave mercy on the culprits, for Spanij^h fire and indignation 
will be leveled at them. What in the name of heaven c^juld 
have given rise to these ex;travaganr;«;s */ 

" Were I suflri<;ic'ntly intimate with Mr. Burr, and knew where 
to dire<^ a line to him, I siiould take the liberty of writing to 
him. Perhii[>s, finding Minor in his way, he was endeavonng 
to extract something from him. He has amused himself at the 
blockhea<l's expens<j, and then Minor has r^itailed the news to 
his employers. Inquire of Mr. liurr about this, and let me 
know at my return, which will be in three or six months. The 



400 r, \ P K (> K A A Iv O N U 11 U IJ . 

t:\lo is a horrid oiu', if well told. Kontiioky, Tonnossoo, tlio 
8t;Uo of <.")l»io, aiul part oi' (looruia and Carolina, arc to bo 
bribod with tho plnndor of tho Spanish oountrios west of us, 
to soparato from tho Tnion. 'Phis is but a part of tho business. 
Iloavons! what wondortul thlnus thore will be in thoso days. 
Kut lunv tho dovil I havo boon lug'ged into tlio oonspiraoy, oi 
what assist anoo, I oan bo to itv, is to n»o inoonijn-ohonsiblo 
Vous, ipii savoz tout, oan bost explain this riddle. Amuse ]Mr 
Burr with an lu-eount of it, but lot not these great and import- 
ant objeets, these almost imjuM-ial doings, prevent you tioni 
attenihng to my lanii business. Keeollect that you, if you in- 
teuil to beeomo kings and emj^orors, must liavo a little moi'o 
oonsideration tor vassals; and if wo have nothing to elothe 
ourselves with, tor we eau be elothed by the produee of our 
lands only ; and if Congress take tl»e hmd for want of formal- 
ities, wo shall then have no produee, aiid shall niako a very 
shabby tlgnro at your eourts. Think of this, and praolioo those 
tbrmalitios that are neeessary, that T may have from my Il- 
linois lands wherewiih to buy a deeont oourt-dress, when pr<.^ 
sentod at your levee. 1 hope you will not have Kentueky 
men for your masters oi' ceremonies." 

To this letter "Wilkinson brietly replied ; l^ut only alluded 
to the run\or as " the tale of a tub of Hurr," and passed to 
other subjeets. 

About the n\iddlo of Septen\ber, Burr roaehed St. Louis, 
where tieneral Wilkinson was. What passed between thoiu 
has boon tv>ld only by Wilkinson, who says that he was then 
struek and alarmed by the altered manner of his friend. 
" Burr seemed," says he, '' to be revolving sou\e groat projeet, 
the nature of whieh he did not diseloso. Speaking of tho im- 
boeility of the government, Colonel Burr said, 'it would 
molder to pieees, die n natural death,* or words to that etfoet; 
ailding ' that the people of the western country wore ready 
for revolt." To this I reeolleet replying, that if he had not. 
}Mvtitod more by his journey, he had better have remained at 
Washington or Fhiladelj^hia, For surely, s:vid I, my friend, 
no person Avas ever more mistaken I Tho western people dis- 



HK HKKKH A NKW COIJNTnT. 401 

afTrictod to the govorrirncnt? Tlioy aio bigoted to JcfT'orHon 
arnl democracy 1 and the corivcirsation dropjHMl." 

(Jthor conversation of tJiiw kind followed, ;iiid WiikiriHon, 
aeeordinj^ to hin own account, began to fear that Burr liad 
C(Hiceived Home dangeroiiH and df;H|K;rate enterf»riHe. Move than 
over, therefore, he bestirred liimself U> [tromote his (;l(;etion to 
OongroKH. As evid(!nce of this, Wilkinson adduces a letter of 
his to Governor Harrison of Indiana, dated September 10th. 
The part of it relating to Burr is as follows; "Shall I say in 
retuin I liave a boon to ask of you, of no ordinary imj)Oit? 
No, I will nut! because the commutation would dishonor my 
application ; but I will demand from your friendship a boon, 
in its influence coextensive with the Union; a boon, perha|>s, 
on wliir;h that Union may much depend ; a boon which may 
serve me, may serve you, and dis-serve neitluir; a boon, wliieh 
from my knowledge of men, motives, and princif)les, will l>e 
acceptal^le to those w1h;s(; politics we are bound to sup|)ort. 
If you ask, what is this important boon which I so earnestly 
crave? I will say to you, n;turn the bearer to the councils of 
our country, where his talents and abilities are all-im[>ortant 
at the present moment. P>ut, you continue, how is this to bo 
done? Jiy your fiat! Let Mr. i'arke adhere to his profes- 
sion ; convene your Solomons and let them return liim (Col- 
(;riel liurj-) to Congress. If you taste this proposition, speak 
to him, and he will authorise you to purchase, if necessary, an 
estate for him in your '^]\;rritory," 

Will^Hon says that, besides writing this letter, he warned 
a member of the cabinet, about the same time, to "keep an 
eye upon Burr." But he also admits that between September, 
1805, and May, 1800, he received six letters in cipher from 
Colonel liurr, all of which contained expi^sHions calculated to 
inculpate him (VVilkin-on). Specimens of these will be given 
in a moment. 

In October Burr had left the far West, On his way east- 
ward, he called again at Blennerhassett Island, but found the 
mastei- absent. 

In November he passed a w(;ek at Washington, whr;n lie 
was received as of old, dined with the Piesident, and gave au 



402 LIFE OP AARON BURR. 

account of his western travels to the company. In the course 
of conversation, at the President's table, he chanced to men- 
tion that a certain military road, which figured on a map pre- 
pared by, or for General Wilkinson, had no existence in re- 
ality. The next day, fearing- that this fact might injure the 
general in the President's estimation, he made a point of call- 
ing at the White House to explain it away. From membei-s 
of the cabinet, he learned that there would he no war with 
Spain. 

From Washington he went South to meet his son-in-law and 
Theodosia ; returning in December to Philadelphia. There 
he wrote one of his mysterious letters to Wilkinson, of which 
the following is a copy. The date is December 12th : " About 
the last of October our cabinet was seriously disposed for war 
with the Spaniards ; but more recent accounts of the increas- 
ing and alarming aggressions and annoyances of the British, 
and some courteous words from the French, have banished 
every such intention. In case of snch warfare, Lee would 
have been commander-in-chief; truth, I assure you ; he must, 
you know, come from Virginia. The utmost now intended is 
that sort of marine piracy which we had with the French 
under the former administration. Burr passed a week at 
Washington, and has been here ten days. Reception as usual. 
He had discovered nothing which excites doubts of the con- 
firmation of Wilkinson's appointment. Secretary of Navy 
apprehended no difficulty. Military establishment wdU not in- 
crease nor diminish. On the subject of a certain sp^ulation, 
it is not deemed material to write till the whole can be com- 
municated. The circumstance refei'red to in a letter from • 
Ohio remains in suspense ; the auspices, however, are favora- 
ble, and it is believed that Wilkinson will give audience to a 
delegation composed of Adair and Dayton in February. Can 
25 * * * be had in your vicinity at some few hours' 
notification ?" 

One would certainly suppose that men who corresponded 
thus were acquainted with each other's plans. 

In this same month of December, Burr wrote his first letter 
to Blennerhassett. It was a very innocent communication, 



HE SEEKS A NEW CCUNTET. 403 

though the contrary has been asserted. It hegan with regrets 
that he had not had the pleasure of meeting Blennerhassett on 
the island, and inquired where and when they could come to- 
gether. Its main purport was that Blennerhassett was too 
much of a man to be satisfied with the common-place delights 
of rural seclusion. He should aspire to a career in which his 
powers would be employed. His fortune, already impaired, 
Avould gradually dwindle away, and his children be left desti- 
tute. The world was wide ; he should go forth from his ener- 
vating solitude in pursuit of fortune and of honor. 

The letter produced precisely the eifect intended. Flattered 
by the notice of a distinguished man, anxious for his decaying 
fortune, fired with a desire for distinction, Blennerhassett re- 
plied that he should be glad to participate in any enterprise in 
which Colonel Burr might think proper to embai'k. He ad- 
mitted, upon his trial, that in making this advance to Colonel 
Burr, he had in view two objects; namely, the procuring of 
lands in the South-west, and a military enterprise against the 
Spaniards. He said that he supposed the administration shared 
the universal indignation against the Spaniards, and that a war 
with Spain was impending ; in which case Colonel Buit's mili- 
tary talents could not but be called into requisition. 

This letter was dated December 21st, 1805, but did not 
reach Colonel Burr until the middle of February, 1806. At 
that time his plans were in suspense, and he was in some doubt 
whether he should be ever able to accomj^lish them. For two 
months Blennerhassett's letter lay in his desk unanswered. 
Meanwhile, he had turned his thoughts in another direction. 
Once more, he sought the public service. 

In Jefferson's Anas, under the date of April 15th, 1806, 
occurs the narrative of Colonel Burr's second application to 
the President for an appointment. This narrative is doubtless 
essentially true, but Jefferson admits that it was written under 
feelings of resentment. Some of Burr's partisans in New 
York had been agitating this sprmg a project for his return 
to that State, again to play the leading part in its politics. 
Among other means employed (but not by him), w^as the re- 
vival of Burr's suit against Cheetham for libel ; the object 



401 



LI F IC OK A A no N II U K H, 



being to ]>roctiro doinonstvative ]n"oof that B\irr tlul not, in 
nny niannor whatever, intriu,ue lor tlie presidency in 1801. 
Some of the depositions taken tin- this purpose seemed to re- 
tleet upon Jellerson, and it Avas whik^ smarting under one oi 
these, that he penned the tbilowing " ana :" 

"About a niontli ago, OoUmel Burr caHed on me, and en- 
tered into a conversation, in which he jnentioned, that a little 
before my coming into olli(H>, I had written to Iiim a letter, 
intimating that 1 had destineil him for a iiigh employ, had ho 
not been ))laced by the peo])le in a diiferent one ; that ho had 
signilied liis willingness to resign as Vice-President, to give 
aid to the administration in any other place; that he had 
never asked an otlice, however ; he asked aid of nobody, but 
could walk on his own legs, and take care of himself; that I 
had always used him witli jtolitiMiess, but notliing more ; that 
lie aided in bringing on the jiresent order of things; that he 
had sniipiMted the administration ; and that he could do mo 
luui'h haiiu. He wished, however, to be on ditVerent ground. 
He was now disengaged from all particular business — "willing 
to engage in something — should be in town some days, if I 
should have any thing to propose to him. 

" I obsei'vetl to him that T had always been sensible that ho 
possessetl talents which might be employed greatly to the ad- 
vantage of the jmblic, and that, as to mysell^ I had a confi- 
dence, that if he were emjtioyed, he would use his talents for 
the public good ; but that he nuist be sensible the public had 
withdrawn their contidence from him, and that in a govern- 
ment like ours it was necessary to embrace in its administra- 
turn as great a mass of public contidence as possible, by em- 
ploying those who had a character with the public of their 
own, and not merely a secondary one through the executive. 

"lie observed that if we believed a few newsi>apers, it 
might be supposed he had lost the public contidence, but that, 
1 knew how easy it was to engage newspapers in any thing. 

" I observed that I did not refer to that kind of evidence 
of his having lost the public contidence, but to the late ^presi- 
dential election, when, though in possession of the otKce of 
Vice-l*resident. there was not a siugle voice hoard for his re- 



HE SEE KB A NJCVV COUNTRY. 406 

tairiirig it. That, as to any harm he could do me, I knew no 
cauH(; why he Hliould df-sire it, hut at the name time, f feared 
no injui'y which any man couhi do rnc; ; that 1 never Jiad done 
a single act, or been concerned in any trariHaction, which I 
feared to iiave fully laid o[M;n, or which could do me any hurt, 
if truly stated ; that 1 had never done a single thing with a 
view to my p(;rHonaI int(;reHt, or that of any frien<], or with 
any other view than that of the greatest public good ; that, 
thereffjre, no threat or fear on that head would ever be a 
motive of action with me. 

" lie has continued in town to this time ; dined with mo 
this day week, aiid called on me to take leave two or three 
days ago. 

" I did not commit these things to writing at the tinu;, but 
I do it now, because in a suit between him and Cheetham, he 
has had a deposition of Mr. Bayard taken, which seems to 
liave no relation to the suit, nor to any other ohject, exc(;|)tto 
calunmiate me." 

It is not surprising that Burr's friends should still resent 
this "ana." l^oubtless, tlu; mode of Bun-'s application is not 
as favorably stated as it would have been l^y Colonel Swart- 
wout. But I beg to say that Jeirerson's reply was unanswer- 
able and noble, worthy of the best atxT ablest American then 
living. Jiiiri- was right, too, in laughing it to scorn. He waH 
himself deceived as to his position and popularity by the en- 
thusiasm of his reception at the West. Jiut the West was not 
then, is not yet, though it is going to be, the Nation. Vir- 
ginia, New England, Pennsylvania, and New York were the 
Nation in 1804, and in them it could with tiuth b(; said that 
Colonel Burr had lost the public confidence as a politician, and 
much of the public resjMJCt af#a man. 

From the time of this interview, Colonel Jiurr set his face 
westward, resolved, if possible, to execute the enterf>rise to 
which his recent correspondence had *so often alluded. On 
the very day that Jefi'erson wrote the narrative just quoted, 
Burr rei>lied to lilennerhassett's letter. He said he /««</ {pro- 
jected, and still meditated, a " speculation" precisely of the 
character iilennerhassett had described. " It would have been 



406 LIFE OF AAKON BUKR. 

Rulmutted to your consideration, in October last, if I li.id then 
Imd the good Ibrtune to find you at home. The business, 
however', in some degree depends on contingencies not within 
my control, and will not be commenced before December, if 
ever. From this circumstance, and as the matter in its pres- 
ent state can not be satisfactorily explained by letter, the 
communication will be deferred till a personal interview can 
be had. AVith this view, I pi-ay to be informed of your in- 
tended movements the ensuing season, and in case you should 
visit New Orleans, at what time and at what port you may be 
expected on the Atlantic coast. But I must insist that these 
intimations be not permitted to interrupt the prosecution of 
any plans which you have formed for yourself. No occupa- 
tion which will not take you oil" the continent can interfere 
with that which I may propose. * '^^ * Wo shall hare no 
war unless we should be actually invaded." 

The "contingencies" referred to in this letter were chiefly 
pecuniary. All depended on the possibility of his raising a 
considerable sum in cash, and a larger one in paper. 

The day after answering IJlennerhassett, he wrote another 
letter in cipher to General Wilkinson, of which the fotlowing 
is a copy : 

"The execution of (J»ir project is postponed till December. 
Want of water in Ohio rendered movement impracticable : 
other reasons rendered delay expedient. The association is 
enlarged, and comprises all that AYilkiuson could wish. Confi- 
dence limited to a few. Though this delay is irksome, it will 
enable us to move with more certainty and dignity. Bm-r will 
be throughout the United States this summer. Administration 
is danmed, which Randolpli aids. Burr wrote you a long let 
ter last December, replying to'Stsliort one deemed very silly. 
Nothing has been heard from the lirigadier since October. Is 
Cusion et Portes right ? Address, Burr, at Wasliington." 

The " Brigadier" wTis Wilkinson. " Cusion," was Colonel 
Gushing, second in command under Wilkinson. " Portes" 
was Major Porter, another of the brigadier's officers. 

This letter confirms the impression, that "our project," 
Aviiatever it was, was one in which Wilkinson was as much 



UE SEEKS A NEW COUNTRY. 407 

implicated as Burr. But of all things in the world, circum- 
stantial evidence is the most deceptive. That Wilkhison 
knew what Burr proposed, I can not doubt ; but that he had 
unequivocally engaged to join in the projected speculation, is 
a question upon which there may be two well-sustained opin- 
ions. 

As the spring advanced, aifairs in the South-west looked more 
and more threatening. The Spaniards added aggression to in- 
solence. It had been agreed between the two governments, that 
until the boundary line should be settled by negotiation, each 
party should retain its posts, but establish no new ones, nor 
make any military movements whatever within the limits in 
dispute. ]3ut after making several petty encroachments, the 
SjDanish commander, early in June, advanced a force of twelve 
hundred men to within twenty miles of Nachitoches. In- 
stantly, General Wilkinson took measures for the defense of 
the frontier. lie had only six hundred regulars under his com- 
mand, most of whom were hurried^forward to the scene of 
expected warfare. The forts of New Orleans were hastily re- 
paired. Every militiaman in the West was furbishing his ac- 
coutrements, and awaiting the summons to the field. On the 
4th of July, 1806, there were not a thousand persons in the 
United States who did not think war with Spain inevitable, 
impending, begun ! The country desired it. A blow from 
Wilkinson, a word "from Jefferson, would have let loose the 
dogs of war, given us Texas, and changed the history of the 
two continents. ' 

But Napoleon, now stalking toward the summit of his 
power, had intimated that a declaration of war against Spain 
would be considered a declaration of war against hbn. Pitt, 
his great enemy, had just died. For the moment, Napoelon's 
word was law everywhere in the world, out of the range of 
British cannon. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

THE EXPEDITION. 

The Objects of the Expedition — Burr's Confei>e!:ates — Swartwout Dkpatcueu 
TO Wilkinson — Bcrr's Fatal Visit to tub Morgans — Exercises a Reoisikni 
AT Marietta — Vigorous Preparations — Rvmoks — Burk before the Court in 
Frankfort — Defended by Henry Clay — His Triumphant Acquittal. 

Precisely when, precisely whevo, it was that Burr con- 
ceived the enterprise upon Avhich liis lieart was now fixed, he 
could not perhaps himself have told. From an early day, 
schemes for revolutionizing the ill governed Spanish provinces 
of America, had been %miliar to the people of the United 
States. During the Revolution, General Miranda was much 
in the American camp, firing the young officers, Hamilton par- 
ticularly, with his own enthusiasm on this subject ; and Burr 
must often have heard Miranda's plans talked over by the 
camp-fire. In this very year, ISOG, Miranda sailed from New 
York to Venezuela, with an expedition, to realize the dream of 
his youth — to execute the purpose of his life. He tailed; 
and tailed again ; and perished at last in a Spanish dungeon. 
It waa to this expedition that Wilkinson alluded, when he said 
to Burr at St. Louis, that he feared Miranda had taken the 
bread o^it of his mouth. Burr used to say, that Wilkinson 
suggested the plan of his expedition — not Miranda. 

It Avas no dream of republicanizing an oppressed people 
that prompted Burr's enterprise. He had had enough of re- 
publics. His design was to conquer Mexico from the Span- 
iards ; to establish in that fine country, a strong, liberal, enlight- 
ened government ; to place himself at the head of that govern- 
ment ; and, if fortune favored, to extirpate the Spanish power 
on the continent. That done, it would be for the States west 
of the AUeghanies, in the exercise of their right as independ- 



Tllli: EXPEDITION. 409 

ent powers, to decide whether they would remain in the 
Union, or join the new empire. If tliey shoukl choose the 
hitter, Kiirr luii^ht select New Orleans for his cai)ital, and 
rule from thence the whole of the vast valley of tlie Missis- 
si{)pi. If they should prefer the former, the city of Mexico 
would be the center and seat of his power. But these details 
were merely dreamed of. The conquest of Mexico, the de- 
liverance of her people from an exacting and tyrannical gov- 
ernment, the establishment of a dynasty worthy to rule so 
magnili(u'nt an empire, the formation of a court, which Theo- 
dosia should adorn by her beauty, and enliven by her talents, 
and where her boy should figure as the heir-apparent — these 
were the great objects of Burr's thoughts and endeavors dur- 
ing the year 1806. 

Whether the execution of the ja-qject should be attempted 
soon, or late, or never, depended upon the turn which affairs 
might take on the south-western frontier. If war broke out, 
nothing would be easier than to organize an expedition 
against Mexico. Thousands of adventurous spirits would 
hasten to enroll themselves under the banner of a popular 
chief, and the j)eople of Mexico* were known to be disaf- 
fected. Jiurr had received assurances that the priests would 
be passive if the church and its possessions were held inviolate. 
From certain commanders of Spanish militia, he had obtained 

* One of Jofferson's letters to John Jay, dated Marseilles, May 1787, 
contains some interesting infonnation respecting tlio inhabitants of Mexico 
at about the period of the American Revolution, derived from a Mexican 
whom Mr. Jcll'er.son met in Paris. The following is an extract : " Tie (tho 
Mexican) classes and characterizea tho inhabitants of tho country as follows: 
1. Tho natives of old Spain, possessed of most of the offices of the govern- 
ment, and firmly attached to it. 2. Tho clergy, equally attached to the gov- 
ernment. 3. Tho natives of Mexico, generally disposed to revolt, but with- 
out instruction, without energy, and much under the dominion of tlieir priests. 
4. Tho slaves, mulatto and black; tho Ibrmer enterprising and intelligent, 
the latter brave, and of very iniportant weight into whatever scale they throw 
themselves; but ho thinks they would side with their masters. 5. Tho con- 
quered Indians, cowardly, not likely to take any side, nor important which 
they take. 6. The free Indians, bravo and formidable, should they interfere, 
but not likely to do so, as being at a great distance." 

18 



410 LIFE OF AAEON BUKK. 

promises that the moment he should appear in Texas with a 
respectable body of troops, they would order out their forces 
and join him en masse. Could there but be a beginning of 
war made, or even a plausible show of it, he saw his way cleai 
to the halls of the Montezumas — to the throne of the Monto 
zunias ! 

But there miglit be no war, or it might be long delayed. 

To provide for both these contingencies, a large purchast 
of laud w^as contemplated, far to the south-west, beyond tht 
Mississippi, on the banks of the river Washita, a branch of 
the Red river. There the choice spirits of the expedition 
would have, at least, a rendezvous and a refuge. There the 
chief could, if necessary, fortify and maintain a position. 
There, if the grand scheme should fail or be abandoned, he 
■would foimd a colony composed of pereons of wealth, education 
refinement and talent, who would embark capital in the mosi 
productive region of the South-west, and form the most bril 
liant, accomplished, and enlightened society on the continent 
In July, 1806, this purchase was made. It comprised four hun 
dred thousand acres, for w-hich Burr w^as to pay forty thousan<? 
dollars, the first installment of which, five thousand dollars, 
he did actually pay. In this purchase, several persons partici- 
pated, most of whom were near relatives or connections of 
Burr. One of his relatives in Connecticut, a descendant of 
Jonathan Edwards, advanced a great part of his savings for 
this purchase. Mr. Alston, probably, furnished money; it is 
certain he endorsed paper for his father-in-law. Burr's con- 
nections in New York were not backward in aiding him. 
From one soure and another, a sum was raised which, as I 
conjecture, did not exceed forty thousand dollars, though 
more was to be forthcoming, when needed. 

Who were his confederates '? Before all others, his daugh 
ter, who was devoted to the scheme heart and soul. To 
achieve a career, and a residence, which she, her husband, and 
her boy could share, were the darUng objects with which 
Burr had gone forth to seek a new country. She caught 
eagerly at his proposal. She saw in it the means whereby her 
father could win a glorious compensation for the wrongs she 



THE EXPEDITION. 411 

felt he had endured, and obtain a conspicuous triumph over 
all his enemies. Her husband, whose mind Burr had aided 
to form, and who tenderly loved Theodosia, entered into 
the enterprise with energy. In New York, it found ad- 
herents among the young ambitious men who had surrounded 
him in the days of his glory. The Swartwouts Avere in it. 
Marinus Willet, who was afterward Mayor of New York, 
was one of its promoters. A score or two of other New 
Yorkers were involved, in a greater or less degree. Doctor 
Erich Bollman, a German, who had distinguished himself by 
a gallant attempt to rescue Lafayette from prison, was one 
of Burr's most trusted confederates. Dayton was another. 
Colonel Dupiestcr was one of the leading spirits. General 
Jackson, a thorough-going hater of Spaniards, was enthusiastic 
in the cause. General Adair, of Kentucky, deep in Burr's con- 
fidence, approved his plans heartily, but was not personally en- 
gaged in them, lilennerhassctt was completely captivated by 
an enterprise which was to enrich him and his children without 
his being subjected to disagreeable exertion. Upon his island 
the first rendezvous was to be made. Mrs. Blennerhassett, no 
less ardent, was preparing to entertain the chief and his 
daughter at her fantastic mansion ; for it was settled that 
Theodosia should accompany her father, and that both she 
and Mrs. Blennerhassett should go with the expedition as far 
as Natchez or New Orleans ; there to await the issue. Alston 
was to follow in a few weeks. Probably, five hundred persons 
in all, knew something of Burr's plans, and had entered into 
some kind of engagement to follow his fortunes. There were, 
also, four or five thousand whose names were on Burr's lists, 
and who, he thought, would hasten to his standard, as- soon 
he should obtain a foothold on Spanish soil. 

During the first half of the" year 1806 Burr resided at 
Philadelphia, in a style and situation more obscure than was 
formerly his custom. He sought the society of men who 
had had cause to be dissatisfied with the government, such as 
Commodore Truxton, who had been struck from the navy 
list, and General Eaton, who could not get his claim against 
the government paid. To these men, as to others, he spoke in 



412 LIFE OF AARON BUKR. 

oontemptuoiis terms of the administration ; he said a separa- 
tion ot" the western States must come, sooner or hUer ; he un- 
folded his own plans, and urged them to unite tlieir fortunes 
Avith his. Mr. Davis says tliat Burr had repeated conferences 
with Mr. Merry, the British minister at Washington, who 
communioated the project to his government, and that Colonel 
Charles \Yilliamson, a well-eonneoted Scotchman, went to En- 
gland to promote the business. "• From the encouragement 
which he received," adds Mr. Davis, " it was hoped and be- 
lieved that a British naval squadron would have been furnished 
in aid of the expedition. The Catholic bishop of New Or- 
leans," he adds, '"' was also consulted, and prepared to promote 
the enterprise. He designated three priests of the order of 
Jesuits as suitable agents, and they were accordingly em- 
ployed. * * * The superior of the convent of TJrsuline 
uuns, at New Orleans, was in the secret. Some of the sister- 
hood were also employed in Mexico." 

There is a vagueness about these statements which looks in- 
tentional, and lessens their credibility. The following is more 
positive: "At this juncture (January tJ, 1806), Mi". Pitt died. 
Wilkinson must have heard of the death of the premier late 
in the spring of 180t>. From that moment, in Mr. Burr's 
opinion, Wilkinson became alarmed, and resolved on an 
abandonment of the enterprise, at the sacritice of his associ- 
ates." It may have been the news of Htt's death, then, that 
produced tlie temporary suspension of the scheme, during 
which Burr applied to the President for employment. 

Omitting conjectures on points which the issue rendered of 
no importance, nothing remains but to narrate the events of 
the latter half of 1806, as they occurred. Never was an ad- 
venturer more sanguine of success than Buit was in July and 
'August of that year. The plot seemed well laid. The excel- 
lence of it was that both his schemes were qenuine. He reallv 
had two string-s to his bow. If war broke out, he would 
inarch into Mexico ; if not, he would settle on the Washita ; 
and wait for a better opportunity. In either case, he was go- 
ing westwai'd never to return. In either ease, a career opened 



THIS KXPICDfTrON. 413 

up before liim wliich lie believed in, and could liavo been Hat- 
isfied with. 

At the end of July, his preparations at the East being com- 
plete, his first inovernent was to send forward Samuel Swart- 
wout, with a jjacket of letters and communicalions, in cipher, 
to General Wilkinson, for the pur[)Ose, as he said, of seciiririf^ 

concert of action between them. On the 29th of July, 
Swartwout, accomj)anied by aru^ther a<lventurer, young Og- 
den, a son of Matthew Ogden, of New Jersey, set out on his 
long journey to the lower Mississippi. 

Six days after, liurr and his dauglit(!r, with two or three 
friends, and a servant or two, ibllowed, taking what they sup- 
posed to be their last farewell of the eastern world. As they 
floated down the Ohio, Burr would occasionally make; detours 
into the adjacent <;oinitry for the piii'pos(i of pnxMiring recruits, 
and feeling the western pulse. It so chanced, that om; of the 
first, if not the first, visit of this kind, had conserpiences of the 
utmost inipoitance. 

It was to the house of Colonel Morgan, a name of renown 
in the West, a valiant old campaignc^r, who liv*;*], with two 
stalwart sdns, near (Jannonsburg, Ohio, that this fatal visit was 
made. Civilities had passed bfitween Morgan and Burr in 
former years, and the old palriot had conceived for liurr a 
very warm fri(,'ndHliip, which his misfortunes and " persecu- 
tions" had strengthened. As his custom was. Colonel Burr 
gav(! notice of his coming, and the old gentleman, bursting 
with hospitality, sent forth his two sons to m(!et the (.'X|)ected 
guests. Colonel Burr rode with one of the sons, and Colonel 
Dupiester with the other. Bui-r's conversation surprised the 
young gentleman. Among other things, he said the Union 
could not last long; a s(![)aration of the States must ensue, 
as a natural consequence, in four or five years. Jle made 
minute itiquiries respectitig the militia and arms of the coun- 
try, and IIkj character of tlu; oflicers. One of Morgan's work- 
men, a line stout fellow, chanced to pass, and liurr said he 
wished he had ten thousand such. 

After diimer, in the presence of a considera})Ie company, 
Burr talked in a strain that shocked and puzzled these good 



414 LIFE OF AAKOJ^ BURR. 

people still more. " I spoke," deposed Colonel Morgan, " of 
our line country, I observed that, when I first went west, 
there was not a sinirle taniilv between the Alleohanv mount- 
ahis and the Ohio ; and that, by and by, we should have Con- 
PTess sittino- ju this noiirhborhood or Pittsburir/' 

Cj ^ ~ ~ 

" Xo, never," said Colonel Burr, " for in less than five years 
you Avill be totally divided from the Atlantic States." 

" God forbid !" exclaimed the old gentleman ; " I hope no 
such thing Mill ever happen, at least not in my time." 

The conversation then turned to Burr's favorite topic of 
the imbecility of the Federal government. The narrative of 
Colonel Morgan continues thus : 

" Colonel Burr said, that with two hundred men he could 
drive Congress, "with the President at its head, into the river 
Potomac ; or that it might be done ; and he said with five 
hundred men, he could take possession of jSTew York. He 
appealed to Colonel Dupiester, if it could not be done : he 
nodded assent. There was a reply made to this by one of my 
sons, that he would be damned if they could take our little 
town of Cannonsburg with that force. Some short time atler 
this. Colonel Burr went out from the dining-room to the pas- 
sage, and beckoned to my son Thomas. What their conversa- 
tion was, I can not say. Soon afler, a walk was proposed to my 
son's mill, and the company went out. "When they returned, 
one (or both of my sons) came to caution me, and said, ' You 
may depend iipon it. Colonel Burr will this night open himself 
to you. He wants Tom to go with him.' At^er the usual 
convei'sation. Colonel Burr went up stairs, and, as I thought, 
to go to bed. Mrs. Morgan was reading to me (as is usual, 
when the family have retired), when, about eleven o'clock, and 
at^er I had supposed he had been an hour in bed, she told me 
that Colonel l>urr was coming down, and as she had heard my 
son's convors;\tion, she added, ' You'll have it now.' Colonel 
Burr came down with a candle in his hand. Mrs. Morgan im- 
mediately retired. The colonel took his seat by me. He 
drew from his pocket a book. I suppose it was a memoran- 
dum-book. At^er looking at it, he asked me if I knew a Mr. 
Vigo, of Fort Vincent, a Spaniard. I replied, yes ; I knew 



THE EXPEDITION. 415 

him ; I had reasons to know hhn. One was, that I had rea- 
sons to beUeve that he was deeply involved in the British con- 
spiracy in 1788, as I supposed ; the object of which was to 
separate the States ; and which General Neville and myself 
had suppressed. I called it a nefarious thing to aim at the 
division of the States. I was careful to j^ut great emphasis 
on the word ' nefarious.'' Colonel Burr, finding what kind 
of man he had to deal with, suddenly stopped, thrust into 
his pocket the book which I saw had blank leaves in it, and 
retired to bed. I believe I was pretty well understood. The 
next morning Colonel Burr and Colonel Dupiester went off 
before breakfast, without my expecting it." 

In short. Colonel Burr, on this occasion as on others, com- 
ported himself precisely as a man having " treasonable" de- 
signs would not comport himself, unless he were mad or 
intoxicated. 

Not so thought Colonel Morgan. He thought there was 
danger in what he had heard. There was a court sitting in 
the neighborhood ; he invited two of the judges to dinner, to 
whom he detailed all that liurr had said and done. These 
gentlemen wrote a joint letter to the President, giving him 
the same information, and advising that Burr's future move- 
ments be watched. Jefferson expressly says that this letter 
gave him the first intimation of Burr's* designs. lie acted 
upon the judges' suggestion by forwarding information to 
confidential persons in the western country, and, soon after, 
by detaching a government clerk, named Graham, with orders 
to go in pursuit of Burr, and ascertain, if possible, what his 
plans were. But in those days operations of this kind were 
slow. It was not until nearly the end of September that the 
judges' letter reached Washington ; and two months, there- 
fore, passed before Burr began to experience the results of his 
indiscretion ; during which his affairs went on without inter- 
ruption. In these days,- a telegraphic dispatch would have 
finished the business in two hours. 

Marietta was Burr's next halting-place. It happened that 
he arrived there on the day of a general training of the mili- 
tia. Riding to the field, he exercised a regiment in a few 



416 I, IFE OF AAKON BlfRU. 

tn'oliitioiiH, :iiul, by his prompt, onorgetic luaniior, gave tho 
multilJiiio a ]\iy(\\ idea of his military talents. In the oveninj^j, 
lio and Thoodosia attcnilod a ball, where ho completed the 
ooiupiest of Marietta by the conrtly grace of his manners. 
The bi'lief was general that he was engaged in an ex{)eilition 
of some kind. The belief was equally general, that that ex- 
j)edition was sanetioned, or would be sanetioned, by the gov- 
ernment, and lu> was at no loss for recruits in jNlarietta. 

How far liinr guiltily inculcated the tlilsehood, that his 
ulterior designs were known and approved by the President, 
is still somewhat imeertaiu. Davis, who knew him intimately 
lor forty years, says he never knew him to tell a diiret lie ; 
and other friends of Hurr luive given me tlu> same informa- 
tion. Hut Davis admits, that '"'• by innuendoes or otherwise, 
liurr inducetl some to believe that his arrangements for tho 
invasion o( Mexico were with the knowledge, if not the ap- 
probation of the governn»ent." Sti-ange perversion of morals, 
which could deem an indirect, or acted, falsehood, less im- 
■worthy of a gentleman than a bold an<l downright lie! 

Mr. .letVerson, who, with all his admirable (pialities, must be 
pronoimced a credulous man, and who certainly binned and 
strove tor liurr's conviction \.o a degree extraordinary and 
unaccoimtable, sent the tbllowing to the prosecuting attor- 
ney during tlu> tiial at Ivichmond : "It is ufiderstood that 
Avhcncver l>urr met with subjects who did not choose to em- 
bark in his projects, unless approved by their government, he 
asserted that he had that approbation. Most oi' them took 
bis word for it, but it is said that with those who would not, 
the tollowing stratagem was practiced. A forged letter, pur- 
portii\g to be from iTcneral Dearborne (Secretary of War), 
was made to express his approbation, and to say that 1 was 
absent at Mi>nticello, but that there was no doubt that on my 
return, my approbation of his enterprise would be given. This 
letter was spread open on his table, so as to invite the eye of 
whoever entered his room, and he contrived occasions of send- 
ing np into his room those whom he wished to become wit- 
nesses oi' his acting under sanction, liy this means he avoided 
committing himself to any liability to prosecution for forgery. 



TIIK RXPK DITTO M. 417 

an^l ^avo anotlifir proof of Ixjing a groat man in liUlr; tliinr^'H, 
wliilo he i.s roally Hmall in gr(!at onoH. I rnuHt add (jicnoial 
D(;arborno'8 declaration, that fie nev<;r wrote a letter to liurr 
ill Ills life, except that when here, once in a winter he usually 
vviote liim a billet of invitation to dine." 

Ilow much truth tlu;re may fje in thiH, I can not tell. Some- 
thing resembling such a tri(;k may have been resorted to 
once, and for some Hpecial purpOHe — but not for the piirpoHC 
of overcoming the conscientiouH HcrupJes of patriots. I^atriots 
of conscientious scruples never read letters wliich they find 
lying open in tfie apartnMjnts of otfiers. Nevertheless, .lollor- 
Hon's main charge is un<leniably true, namely, tfiat tfie idea, in 
Borae way, was given out, that the government Hccretly ap- 
proved of what iiiirr was doing. Jiurr wojjld reply to tfiis, 
tliat fiis plans were leased on tlie certainty of war; and in time 
of war, privat(! expediti(;ns, designed to injure tfie enemy, can 
not hat be ap|>roved by government. 

Leaving liis dauglitei- upon lilennerhassett Island, iJurrbent 
all fiis powers to preparing for tlie expedition. (Jontracts for 
fifteen large }>atteaux, to fn; capable of trarispf>rting five hun- 
drrid m(;n, were entcrfid into at Marietta, and the wf»rk forth- 
with began. Quantities of flour, pork, and meal were; pur- 
chased. On tlie island kilns 'Wiwa constructed for drying the 
corn. Men were daily added to the rolls. They appear to 
have been engaged for an object which was to be exfflained 
to them afterward, but all were to come equipped and armr-d, 
and to each was promised, as [)art of the compe-nsation for fiis 
services, one hundred acres of land on the Washita. lilen- 
nerhassett was busy enough. To prepare the western mind 
for future contingencies, he wrote a series of articles in a 
neighboring n(!wspaper, in whif',li the advantages of a separa- 
tion of the western States froin the eastern were discussrid and 
exhibited. His island resounded with the din of preparation. 
Mrs. lilennerhassett, happy in the society of Theodosia, full of 
conlir|(;rice in her fatfuir's talents, was all a-glow witli f^leasant 
exf)ectation. liurr was every wfiere ; now at Marietta; now 
at (/hillicothe ; then at (Jincinnati ; through Kentucky and 
Tennessee; everywhere gaining adherents, and enlarging his 

18* 



MS 



1, 1 F E O V A A 11 O N lU' B R . 



noquaintaiu'O Avilh men of inllnon^'O : voooivod always as the 
or<>:v( m:\ii. Six boats woro sot biiiUUno- on the Oumborland, 
aiul four tho\isand dollars dopositod with Gonoral Juokson to 
pay tor thorn. In (.>otobor, jMr. Alston arrivod, and soon atlor, 
ho, Thoodosin, and Hlonnorhassott, jonrnoyod, by easy stagos, 
1o T.oxino-ton, in Kontnoky, loaving the onorgotio wife of 
Klonnorhassett npon the island, to suporintond the great con- 
eorns there going forward. On their journey they found the 
country full of rumors rospeoting Burr, and some scheme he 
was said to have in hand ; brit they also observed that these 
runuirs were i;ouernlly believed to be groundless; and attrilv 
utod to the nialiee of Burr's old enemies, the Federalists, 

Before Kuig, the press begati, in a oonfused and doubtful 
tiuio, to souiui tUe alann. In the IVtStcrn World, a news- 
paper piiblished at Frankfort, Kentueky, there appeared some 
artiolos, \\\ whioh, along with many ornu-s. Burr's sehenie was 
shadowed t'orth, and he himself douounood as a traitor. The 
writer deseanted on the disunion party of I TOO, re-stated its 
plan of disunion, denounoed aiu<w the surviving members of 
tliat party, some of whom were in high place, and asserted 
th>at a gigantic conspiracy had been formed to revive and 
carry out the plan. All this, he avowed, was done through 
Spanish agents, who kept in pay some of the leading men of 
Kentucky. This farrago of truth and falsehood, though it 
eonviuoed few, yet added fuel to the tlame of popular exoite- 
n\ont. 

On the ;h1 of November, at Frankfort, Mr. Daviess, Attor- 
ney for the United States, rose in court, and moved that 
Aaron Burr be compelled to attend the court, to answer a 
charge to be niade :\gainst him, of being engaged in an entei^ 
prise contrary to the laws of the United States, and designed 
to iiijure a power with which the United States were at peace. 
This moveuicTU took every one by surprise. Daviess was a 
noted Federalist, and the motion was at once concluded to be 
a more tnanifestatiou of party spite. As the news Hew about 
the town, nine tetiths of the people, it is said, sided instantly 
with Burr, atid indignantly denoutu-ed the attorney. Judge 
Innis evidently sympathized with the popular feeling, and. 



THE EXPEDITION. 4J9 

after deliberating on the motion for two days, denied it. Tho 
interesting scenes which followed this decision at Frankfort, 
are sj^iritedly related by an eye-witness, or from inft^rmation 
given by eye-witnesses, in Collins's History of Kentucky. 

" Colonel Burr was in Lexington at the time, and was in- 
formed of tho motion made by Daviess in an incredibly short 
space of time after it was made. lie entered the court-house 
shortly after Imiis had overruled the motion, and addressed 
the judge with a grave and calm' dignity of manner which in- 
creased, if possible, the general prepossession in his favor. 
He spoke of the late motion as one which had greatly sur- 
prised him ; insinuated that Daviess had reason to believe 
that he was absent upon business of a {)rivate and pressing na- 
ture, which, it was well known, required his immediate atten- 
tion ; that the judge had treated the application as it de- 
served ; but as it might be renewed by tiie attorney, in his 
absence, he preferrc'l that the judge should entertain the mo- 
tion no?/), and he had voluntarily appeared in order to give tho 
gentleman an oppoitmiity of proving his charge. 

" Nowise disconcerted by the lofty tranquillity of Burr's 
manner, than which nothing could be more imposing, Daviess 
promptly accepted the challenge, and declared himself ready 
to proceed as soon as he could procure the attendance of his 
witnesses. After consulting with the marshal, Daviess an- 
nounced his opinion that his witnesses could attend on the en- 
suing Wednesday ; and, with the concurrence of Burr, tliat 
day was fixed upon l^y th(; court for the investigation, 

"Burr awaited the day with an easy tranquillity which 
Heemed to fear no danger, and on Wednesday the court-house 
was crowded to suffocation. Daviess, upon counting his wit- 
nesses, discovered that" Davis Floyd, one of the most import- 
ant, was absent, and, with great reluctance, asked a postpone- 
ment of the case. The judge instantly disdiarged the grand 
jury. Colonel Burr then appeared at the bar, accompanied 
by his counsel, Henry Clay and Colonel Allen. Colonel Burr 
arose in court, expressed his regret that the grand jury had 
been discharged, and inquired the reason. Colonel Daviess 
reolied, and added, that Floyd was then in Indiana, atten'Jing 



420 LIFE OF AARON 15UKK. 

.1 session of the territorial legislature. Burr calmly desired 
that the cause of the postponemeut might be entered upon the 
record, as well as the reason why Floyd did not attend. He 
then, with great sell-possession, and with an air of candor dif- 
ficult to be resisted, addressed the court and crowded au- 
dience upon the subject of tin? accusation, Ilis style was with- 
out ornament, passion, or fervor ; but the spell of a gi-eat 
mind, and daring, but calm spirit was felt with singular power 
by all who heard him. He hoped the good people of Ken- 
tucky would dismiss their apprehensions of danger from him, 
if any such really existed. There was really no ground for 
them, however zealously the attorney might strive to awaken 
tlu-m. lie was engaged in no project inimical to the peace or 
tranquillity of the country ; as they would certainly learn 
whenever the attorney should be ready, which he greatly ap- 
prehended would never be. In the mean time, although pri- 
vate business urgently demanded his presence elsewhere, he 
felt compelled to give the attorney one more opportunity of 
proving his charge, and would patiently await another attack. 

" Upon the 25th of November, Colonel Daviess informed 
the court that Floyd would attend on the 2d of December 
followinsr, and another grand iurv was summoned to attend 
on that day. Colonel Burr came into court attended by the 
same counsel as on the former occasion, and coolly awaited 
the expected attack. Daviess, with evident chagrin, again 
announced that he was not ready to proceed ; that John Adair 
had been sumnmned, and was not in attendance, and that his 
testimony was indispensable to the .prosecution. He again 
asked a postponement of the case for a few days, and that the 
grand jury should be kept impanneled until he could compel 
the attendance of Adair by attachment. 

" Burr, upon the present occasion, remained silent, and en- 
tirely unmoved by any thing that occurred. Not so his coun- 
sel. A most animated and im})assioned debate sprung up, in- 
termingled with shai'p and dashing personalities, between Clay 
and Daviess. Never did two more illustrious orators encoun- 
ter each other in debate. The enormous mass which crowded 
tt) sulfocation the iioor, the galleries, the windows, the plat- 



THE EXPEDITION. 421 

form of the judge, remained still and breathless for hours, 
while these renowned and immortal champions, stimulated by 
mutual rivalry, and each glowing in the ardent conviction ot 
right, encountered each other in splendid intellectual combat. 
Clay had the sympathies of the audience on his side, and was 
the leader of the popular party in Kentucky. Daviess was a 
Federalist, and was regarded as persecuting an innocent and 
unfortunate man from motives of political hate. But he was 
buoyed up by the full conviction of Burr's guilt, and the delu- 
sion of the people on the subject ; and the very infatuation 
which he beheld around him, and the smiling serenity of the 
traitor who sat before him, stirred his great spirit to one of 
his most brilliant efforts. All, however, was in vain. Judge 
Innis refused to retain the grand jury, unless some business 
was brought before them ; and Daviess, in order to gain time 
sent up to them an indictment against John Adair, which was 
pronounced by the jury ' not a true bill.' The hour being 
late, Daviess then moved for an attachment to compel the 
presence of Adair, which was resisted by Burr's counsel, and 
refused by the court, on the ground that Adair was not in 
contempt till the day had expired. On the motion of Daviess, 
the court then adjourned to the following day. 

" In the interval, Daviess had a private interview with the 
judge, and obtained from him an expression of the opinion 
that it would be allowable for him as prosecutor to attend the 
grand jury in their room, and examine the witnesses, in order 
to explain to them the connection of the detached particles of 
evidence which his intimate acquaintance with the plot would 
enable him to do, and without which the grand jury would 
scarcely be able to comprehend their bearing. When the 
court resumed its sitting on the following morning, Daviess 
moved to be permitted to attend the grand jury in their room. 
This was resisted by Burr's counsel as novel and unprecedent- 
ed, and refused by the court. The grand jury then retired, 
witnesses were sworn and sent up to them, and on the 5th of 
the month, they returned, as Daviess had expected, ' not a 
true bill.' In addition to this, the grand jury returned into 
court a written declaration, signed by the whole of them, in 



422 LIFE OF AARON IJURK. 

wliicli, froiu all the cviclence before them, they completely 
exonerated Burr from any design inimical to the peace or 
well-being of the country. Colonel Allen instantly moved the 
court that a copy of the report of the grand jury should be 
aken and inserted in the newsjjapers, Avhich was granted. 
The popular current ran with great strength in his favor, and 
the United States' attorney, for the time, was overwhelmed 
with obloquy. 

" The aecpiittal of Burr Avas celebrated at Frankfort by a 
brilliant ball, numerously attended ; wliich was followed by 
another ball given in honor of the bailied attorney, by those 
friends who believed the charge to be just, and that truth, for 
the time, had been baffled by boldness, eloquence, and delusion. 
At one of these parties the editor of the Western World, who 
had boldly sounded the alarm, was violently attacked, with a 
view of driving him from the ball-room, and was rescued with 
difficulty. 

" Before Mr. Clay took any active part as the counsel of 
Burr, he required of him an explicit disavowal, upon his honor, 
that he was engaged in no design contrary to the laws and 
peace of the country. The pledge was ])romptly given by 
Burr in language the most comprehensive and particular. 
' lie had no design,' he said, ' to intermeddle with or disturb 
the tranquillity of the United States, nor its territories, nor any 
part of them. lie had neither issued, nor signed, nor promised 
a commission to any person for any purpose. He did not own 
a single musket, nor bayonet, nor any single article of military 
stores, nor did any other person for him, by his authority or 
knowledge. His views had been explained to several distin- 
guished members of the administration, were veil understood 
and approved by the government. They were such as every 
man of honor, and every good citizen must approve.' " 

]Mr. Clay, there is reason to believe, went to his grave lu 
the belief that each of these assertions was an unmitigated 
falsehood, and the writer of the above adduces them merely 
as remarkable instances of cool, impudent lying. On the con- 
trary, with one exception, all of Burr's allegations were true; 
and even that one was true in a Jjurrian sense. He did 7iot 



T II K JS X P J£ D I I' I O JT . 423 

own any arms or military stores. By tlio terms of his engage- 
ment witii his recruits, every man was to join him armed, just 
as every backwoodsman was armed wlienever he went from 
home. He had not issued nor promised any commissions ; the 
time had not yet come for that. Jeiferson and his cabinet un- 
doubtedly knew his views and intentions up to the point 
where they ceased to be lawful ! That is to say, they knew 
that he was going to settle in tlic western country, and that 
'if the expected war sliould break out, he would head an on- 
slaught on the Dons. His ulterior views may have been known 
to one, or even two, members of Jelferson's cabinet, for any 
thing that can noio be ascertained. The moment the tide 
really turned against this fated man, a surprising ignorance 
overspread many minds that had before been extremely well- 
jpfnynied I'especting his plans. 

To several other persons, JJurr held similar language about 
this time. He told John Smith of Ohio, that if Bonaparte 
with all his army were in the western country, with the ob- 
jects attributed to himself, he would never see salt water 
again. November 27th, he wrote to Governor Harrison: 
" Considei'ing the various and extravagant reports which cir- 
culate concerning me, it may not be unsatijiliictory to you to 
be informed (and to you there can be no better source of in 
formation than myself) that I have no wish or design to at- 
tempt a separation of the Union, that I have no connection 
"with any foreign power or government, that I never medita- 
ted the introduction of any foreign power or infhience into the 
United States, or any part of its territories, but on the con- 
trary should repel with indignation any proposition or meas- 
ure having that tendency ; in fine, that I have no project or 
views hostile to the interest or tranquillity or union of the 
United States, or prejudicial to its government, and I jjledge 
my honor to the truth of this declaration. It is true that I 
am engaged in an extensive' speculation, and that with me are 
associated some of your ultimate and dearest friends The 
objects are such as every man of honor and eveiy good citizen 
must approve. They have been communicated to several of 
the principal officers of our government, particularly to one 



424 LIFE OF AARON BURR. 



I 



in the confidence of the administration. He has assured mo 
my views would be grateful to the administration. Indeed, 
from the nature of them, it can not be otherwise, and I have 
no doubt of having received your active support, if a personal 
communication with you could have been had."' 

After his acquittal at Frankfort, Burr proceeded, with flying , 

colors, to Nashville, where he was again received as a conquer- " 

ins: hero, and where another grand ball celebrated his deliver- 
ance from " Federal machinations." He addi-essed himself to 
the task of completing his prei)arations, fondly supposing that 
now every obstacle was removed. The plan v>as, for Blenner- 
hassett and his jiarty to float down the Ohio, in the fifteen 
batteaux that were building at ^Marietta ; and for himself and 
the Tennesseeans to descend the Cumberland. At the mouth 
of the Cumberland the parties were to unite, Burr to take the 
command, and the whole flotilla to proceed down the ]Missis- 
sippi in quest of what fortune might have in store for them. 

But alas ! never w^as a fly more completely entangled in a 
spider's w eb than was this adventurer in the meshes of his 
own plot, at the moment when eveiy body was congratulating 
him on his triumph, and when he saw the path to fortune and 
glory clear and biaght before him. 

I 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

THE EXPLOSION. 

BTTABTWOCl^fi AeEIVAI, IS QF.SF.Ri.1. "W ILKtSSdOS'S CAMP — TbB CiPHEE LeTTEBB 

VTiLKiyfeOK Eeveals the Scheme — Sesds laroEHArws to the PEEsr»EyT — 
The Peoclamatiok — WiLKisgox's Meabcee« — The Public Feekzt — B';esb» 

OST BlES-NEEHASSETT IsLASD — DeSCESTT of the BrVEE — BCBB Bl'BBESDEE« 

Geauk .Jcet Kefcsb to InBicrr Him — Hib Flk;ht iato the Wu-oeesbsj. 

The Buramer of 1806 was a busy one indeed with General 
Wilkinson. What with fortifying New Orleans, transporting 
troops to the Sabine, calling out the militia, preparing them 
for the field, and writing long dispatches to the Secretary of 
War, the portly general had had his hiands full. He had never 
before been so imjjortant a personage. Beside being the gov- 
ernor of a Territory, he was the commander-in-chief of the 
army ; and the critical relations subsisting between Spain and 
the United States fixed upon him, for the time, the eyes of two 
nations. It was this — not Pitt's death — which made him a 
traitor to Burr, if he was a traitor to Burr, 

Toward the close of September, he repaired in person to 
the neighborhood of the Sabine, where, for several weeks, a 
body of hi.s troops had been confronting the Spanish camp. 
Every thing wore a more warlike aspect than ever, and the 
American soldiers were impatient to be led against the enemy. 
Wilkinson himself expected battle, so he said ; was expecting 
it daily ; when an event occurred which totally and instantly 
changed the current of his plans. This was the arrival in, 
camp of Samuel Swartwout. 

If Wilkinson's account be true, the very means which Bun- 
adopted to precipitate war, was the direct and only cause of its 
prevention. 

Misled by false information respecting the general's move- 
ments, Swartwout and his companion bad been traveling for 



FuUvM\ woui to AU>a»Y in lus !*to;un\HvU, Lortviusi^ Oiixiou to 
iH>«nn\u> his jvi>\mu\v to No\\ Orlojuis, Swjwtwout, on the StU 
of t^v*tolHM\ oamo in siiiht ot" Wilkinson's qnnrtoi's «( XuoM 
tvvluvs, {»nvi inv)ni>vvi tor OoUmuM Oushinsi\ tho soovMni in ooni- 
j\Vrtnvl. Ho was o\>nvhvoto<i to tho i)U;»r(oi"s of th;>t otVioor, 
\vl\iol» woiv, iuviood. ai hoftiK^uartot'S, To hitn ho pjvsvntovl 
a lot tor tKM»\ Ojivumk whioh innvdnood t\ii\lon to t.^uslnnii*si 
ao\jU5>intanoo, Um nuMUionod Sw^rtwout as t\ii\lon's tvswolinsj 
ivm^vnnion. \\'h:>t (oUowod tho Tvjuiinii' ot* this lottor has 
btLH-n ivbiiod l>v <.\>lonol Cnshinjj hinisolf in « tvM^ual lioposi- 
tion: "Tho gvntlonxun inlormovi mo," ho iiojH>sovi) ^^ that ho 
was tho Mr. Swavtwout n^otitionod in tho lottos ai\d I pro« 
sontod him to t>ono»^\l Wilkhison as tho tVionvl of Go«oi*al 
IX^vion, juid JVv|uosU vi hinx to tako a soat with us at tabK\ 
whioh ho did, ^Ir. Swnnwovu ihon olv^orvod th;U Mr. <.^g\ion 
and hiutsoir. Ivinvt on thoir wj^v lo Now l>rlo;M\s, hjui loariunl 
at Fort AdAn\sthat our t»\H^|vs and sonvo nnliti:* woro assoftv 
Winji at N^ohitvvln^ tK>m whonoo thoy \vo»\j to m;\r\*l» against 
tho S[>anish arn\\\ thou in our noijihlKirhood : anil thj^t t)\o 
c>biivt ot' his visii was to aot with us j\s a Yoiuntooi\ Ho iv- 
mjunod witl\ us tor svuno un\o, and^vnvoi^Hi on various tv^pios, 
b\tt s:\id nothiuij whioh Ovndd oxoito a susjMoivnx ajjainst him; 
and ho lort us, with a strvmji^ imp^^^s;sion, on u»y utiud that his 
busim^ss to Now t^rU\uis was ot" a iv >{ uatuiv, ami 

tvuld Ih> oonduv^iod by Mr. t'^jixlou duriuj; ...> ... >onoo. While 
ho was in nty v^uartoix I w as oalUnl out on bujianoss, :u\d was 
al^sout tVvuu tivo to ton miutitos." 

Pvniuji^ this bviof al>s<Hxo«> of Olonol Ousbinsy tK>m tho 
room, Swartwout soi^xvi (ho o Uy to jiivo tho gonoral 

tho iwjHmant |v»oko' ' • ' v -. ,,> tho IxNsror, AsasjHvi- 
»uou of tho tbt v\>t > with whioh ovory part of the 

o\uio»\oo rx>sjKVtinj* Hurr's oxjHHUtivn> alK>und5>>» it may bt» moiv 
tioatoil that \Yilki«s«,vu assints ihat iho (vxokot was slyly slipj^Hni 
into his hajxd; whilo Swart wont swoarsthat, Iv' 

tbo gvuoi^k ho pvs ■ ■ ' ' ' ' • ■■- •• , < v.... .n. 

mamw • 1r was tv ^ aJ\or, Swart- 

w oxit sivttoral and strv>Uod ab^^ut tho camp, cotuport* 



T H K E X I' t. f> H I O N . 427 

ing himself, in all respects, as became his assumed character 
of volunteer. 

It was not till evening that Wilkinson had time and o[»por- 
tunity to examine the important f)ack(!l. He f(;iind it to con- 
sist of three letters, two of them in cipher, and one in ordinary 
vvriting, First, there was the following letter from Jiurr to 
Wilkinson, introducing Swartwout. This was in common 
hand : " Dear Sir, Mr. Swartwont, the brother of Colonel S,, 
of New York, being on his way flown the Mississipjji, and 
presuming he may pass you at some fiost on the river, has re- 
quested of me a letter of introduction, which I give with 
pleasure, as he is a most amiable yoimg man and highly re- 
spected from his family and connections. 1 i>ray you to affr;rd 
any friendly ofliff^s which his situation may require, and beg 
you to pardon thf; trouhh; which tliis may give you." 

Secondly, th(! packet contained the celebrated cipher letter 
from Burr to the general, a copy of which, as given in Wil- 
kinson's Memoirs, is as follows: 

"Yours, post-marked l^th of May, is received. I, Aaron 
Burr, have obtained finids, and })ave actually commenced the 
enterjjrise. iJetaclnnents from diiferent points, and under 
different pretenses, will rendezvous on the Ohio, Ist Novem- 
ber — every thing internal and extcirnal, favors views ; protec- 
tion of England is secured. T is going to Jamaica to 

arrange with the admiral on that station ; it will meet on the 

Mississippi. , Kngland, , navy of the United States 

are ready to join, and final orders are given to my friends and 
followers : it will be a host of choice sjnrits. Wilkinson shall 
be second to Burr only, Wilkinson shall dictate the rank and 
promotion of his officers. Jiurr will proceed westward, 1st 
August, never more to return ; with him goes his daughter; 
the husband will follow in Octof^cr with a corps of worthies. 

" Send forth an intelligent and confidential friend with whom 
Burr may confer ; he shall return immediately with further 
interesting details; this is essential to concert and harmony of 
movement. Send a list of all persons known to Wilkinson, 
west of the mountains, who may be us(jful, with a note delin- 
eating their characters. By your messenger send me lour or 



428 LIFE OF AARON BURR. 

five commissions of your officers, which you can borrow under 
any pretense you please ; they shall be returned faithfully 
Already are orders to the contractors given to forward six 
months' provisions to points Wilkinson may name : this shall 
not be used until the last moment, and then under proper in- 
junctions. The project is brought to the point so long desired. 
Burr guaranties the result with his life and honor, with the 
honor, and fortunes of hundreds of the best blood of our 
country. 

" Burr's plan of operation is, to move down rapidly from 
the Falls on the 15th of September, with the first 500 or 1,000 
men in light boats, now constructing for that purpose, to be 
at Natchez between the 5th and 15th of December; there to 
meet Wilkinson ; there to determine whether it will be expe- 
dient in the first instance to seize on or pass by Baton Rouge. 
On receipt of this send an answer. Draw on Burr for all ex- 
penses, etc. The people of the country to which we are 
going, are prepared to receive us. Their agents, now with 
Burr, say, that if we will protect their religion, and will not 
subject them to a foreign power, that in three weeks all will 
be settled. The gods invite to glory and fortune ; it remains 
to be seen whether we deserve the boon. The bearer of this 
goes express to you; he will hand a formal letter of introduc- 
tion to you from Burr. He is a man of inviolable honor and 
perfect discretion ; formed to execute rather than to project ; 
capable of relating fxcts with fidelity, and incapable of relating 
them otherwise. He is thoroughly informed of the plans and 
intentions of Burr, and will disclose to you as far as you in- 
quire and no further. Pie has imbibed a reverence for your 
character, and may be embarrassed in your presence. Put him 
at ease, and he will satisfy you." 

Thirdly, as though to make assurance doubly sure, the fol- 
lowing letter from Dayton was brought to bear on the gen- 
eral's mind : 

" Dear Sir — It is now well ascertained that you are to be dis- 
placed in next session. Jefferson will affect to yield reluct- 
antly to the public sentiment, but yield he will. Prepare 
yourself, therefore, for it. You know the rest. You are not 



THE EXPLOSION. 429 

a man to despair, or even despond, especially when such pros- 
pects offer in another quarter. Are you ready ? Are your 
numerous associates ready ? Wealth and glory, Louisiana and 
Mexico ! I shall have time to receive a letter from you before 
I set out for Ohio. Ohio. Address one to me here, and another 
in Cincinnati. Receive and treat my nephew affectionately 
as you would receive your friend Dayton." 

It was late at night before Wilkinson had deciphered these 
letters sufficiently to have an idea of their drift. His resolu- 
tion was taken without delay. Burr had overdone it ; had 
put more upon the general than he had the strength to exe- 
cute. The continuation of Colonel Cushing's deposition shows 
that, within a few houi-s after Wilkinson had mastered the con- 
tents of the packet, he committed himself to an exposure of 
the scheme. " The next morning," says Cushing, " I was 
walking on the gallery in front of my quarters, when General 
Wilkinson came up, and taking me aside, informed me that he 
had something of a very serious nature to communicate to 
me. So much so that, although it was necessary to hold it 
in strict reserve for the present, he begged me to bear it in 
mind, that I might be able to make a fair statement of it at 
any future period. He then asked me if I knew, or had 
heard, of any enterprise being on foot in the western States. 
I replied that I had heard nothing on the subject, and asked 
him what the enterprise was to which he alluded. He then 
said, ' Yes, my friend, a great number of individuals possess- 
ing wealth, popularity, and talents, are, at this moment, asso- 
ciated for purposes inimical to the government of the United 
States. Colonel Burr is at their head, and the young gentle- 
man who delivered you the letter last evening, is one of his 
emissaries. The story of serving as a volunteer is only a 
mask. He has brought me a letter from Colonel Burr, which, 
being in cipher, I have not yet been fully able to make out ; 
but I have discovered that bis object is treasonable, and that 
it is my duty to oppose him by every means in my power. 
He assures me that he has funds ; says the navy is with him ; 
offers to make me second in command, and to give the officers 
of the army any thing I may ask for them ; and he requests 



iSO LIFE OF AAKON BFKK. 

mo to send a confidential friend to oonter with him at Xash- 
ville, in Tetniossee. In fact, he seems to calculate ou me and 
the army as ready to ioin to him.' 

" I then asked the general \yhether he had received any in- 
formation or instruction on this subject from goyernment, to 
which he replied tliat he had not, ajd that he must therefore 
adopt such measures as, in his judgment, \verebest calculated 
to defend the country, lie said he would immediately march 
to the Sabine, and endeayor to make such terms with the Span- 
ish comn\ander as would justify him hi remoying the greater 
part of his force to the Mississippi; and that the moment this 
could be etfected, he would send me to Xew Orleans in a 
light barge, with orders to secure the French train of artillery 
at that post, and to put the place in the best possible situation 
for defense, and that he would follow with ey^ry man that 
could be spared from Xachitoches, with all possible expedi- 
tion. He told me that he would give the information he ha«^ 
received, to the President of the United States, and solicit 
j^rticular instructions for his government, bat as delay might 
pi'ove ruinous, he would pui-sue the course before sugge^Jted, 
as the only means in his power, to save the coimtry, until the 
pleasure of the President could be known.'' 

At the last moment, then, Wilkinson shrank from the work 
expected of him. The pi-obability is strong that he always 
meant to do so. That he was a weak, vain, ialse, greedy man, 
is likely enough. That carried away by the magic of Burr's 
resistlo5-s prt'Stncey and hoping the scheme would never involve 
him in its folds, he suggested, encom-aged, and aided it, is 
veiy probable. That he had given Burr to undei-stand in 
some vague wjiy, that he would strike a blow which would 
begin a war, whenever it should be needed, is also probable 
That he chose the part he did choose from a calculation of ad 
vantagjj^ to himself, from motives mean and mercenary rests 
upon evidence that convinces.* Xevertheless, the tact re- 

* The charge that "(iVilkinsoa sem a cormdential agent, "Walter Barling, to 
Mexico, to demand of the Alcexoy a compensation of two hundred thoiisand 
dollars fijr hi? services ins- - " ' ^a. is supported by the 
Allowing evidence: 1. The , a 1S16, after her hus- 



THE EXPLOSION. 431 

mains, that he did not " strike the blow ;" he did not involve 
two nations in war ; he did not shape his course accordinj^ to 
the wishes of Aaron Burr, instead of the orders of Thomas 
Jefferson. If he was a traitor, he was a traitor to his confed- 
erates, not to liis country, his commission, his flag. True, the 
country, particularly the western States, desired war, and 
would have applauded him for beginning it. But to a soldier, 
his country speaks only through the commands of its chief. 

For ten days Swartwout remained in camp, during which 
Wilkinson seemed to favor and applaud the project, and ex- 
tracted from him all the information lie possessed. Swartwout 
conversed freely, replying to all of Wilkinson's questions, with- 
out suspicion of his treachery. " I inquired," says Wilkinson, 
in his Memoirs, " what would be their course ? lie said, 
this territory (Louisiana) would be revolutionized, where the 
people were ready to join them, and that there would be some 
seizing he supposed, at New Orleans ; that they expected to 
be ready to embark about the 1st of February, and intended 
to land at Vera Cruz, and to march from thence to Mexico. 
I observed that there Avcre several millions of dollars in the 
bank of this place, to which he replied. We know it full 
well ;' and on remarking that they certainly did not mean to 
violate private property, he said they ' merely meant to bor- 
row, and would return it ; that they must equip themselves 
in New Orleans ; that they expected naval protection ft-om 

Great Britain ; that Captain , and the ofllcers of our 

navy were so disgusted with the government, that they were 
ready to join ; that similar disgusts prevailed throughout the 

band's death, asserted it repeatedly to Colonel Richard Raynal Keene, an Irish 
gentleman in the Mexican service. 2. Dr. Patrick Mangan, an Irish priest and 
professor, who served as inter-proter between the Viceroy and Burling, testi 
fled, in writing, to the same effect, adding, that the application was contempt 
uously refused by the Viceroy, and Burling ordered out of the country. 
3. Colonel Keene, who afterward- practiced law in New Orleans, deposed to 
having heard the statements of the Vice-Queen, as aforesaid ; and placed on 
permanent and legal record in New Orleans, a declaration of the Vice-Queen's 
to the same effect, signed with her own hand ; also, a formal statement by 
Dr. Mangan ; and lastly, his own affidavit. All of these documents are duly 
preserved in New Orleans at the proper ofQce. 



4S2 LIFK OF AAKOX FTKK. 

xcvssto'-" V >•-■-. -V \v--^v '"'-..> '^.>^•^~ XV --v loalvMis in fevor of 
tho c ; schoouoT^ w^re oc«- 

tract ^i tv>r sloiii: o\ir \ve$toTt» cn>*?t« ^vr thoir servkv,'' ^' 

S«-anwout IcA iho c*mp v>n tJit? 18tk of OotoWr, anvi pnv 
cersiod v>n M$ w-^Y dv»\vn tho rivi " ^Vll- 

To v\ ^ xMs he csus^xl ^ \ to rossiini 

his ooraiwissioix oix jxroiensse v»f a vie^re to return to his homo 
in the East ; iutd to him Wilkinson iutmstevi disjxatohes tor 
the l>esidej\t. To pay his ex^xn.sos to VTasl " 

nishe/^ ' • • ^vith tiv. ' ^rovi vi/" -^ - •■ - - ,.. .. >..... 

t<>r a V upon » tnau _. . y a K\4t or 

t>rvv anvi wx\ar vmu txKV* or three horses. 

The mess^Hi5i>?r ieA csunp on the 51st of Oetober, aiul de- 
livered his o - ;^ to the l>re>' ' /; the iJ5th of Xv>vem- 
K- v^- '• V ,^-,_ _. ;,^., „^.-. • -n, su>d se»n 

i: ^ . . prise as it 

flew, . the ooumry \kith «\ It is nooci?> 

aUe. that neither in W Ukinson>s dispatches. iK>r in Jot^l^^rexMt^s 
p \ v^iiS '. ,0 v>f F -.. W: "s - 



■ttATvi, that he wrrine s U^ter to Hnrr aAer the r^vvipt of the 
cipher^ Ihw. the leii'sr and dostrv^yed 

iu Tfee Pir>?sidv^4's pro*. ^xi that \in- 

I:. ■■ - ^ - - " -^ 

* - ^ -^ - - % ■ -*^ 

t. swy>r '. , aj>d i«.,'s>r xwv>e- 

CiitivMi >vi;h ail the ri^>Ts; v>f the I- all 

olKcers. eivil anvl iniSt^WT. to tts>? their < 

*\ > to brii-ig the o^" : pet^xij ;c , 

i-.u. . 

Wliile W V > . w^is s?i"l in so: . . >,~ to 

p«ir«»e» he wvxivted a letter m^m a;; .v in Xaj^ar ; :, 

V. .s he sax's^ x It s^^rcvi tliai a " 



«. - 



>sees V A In 



T II 10 K X r I. OS 1 (» N . 433 

ditviiii, nro coinhiiicd (,«i (Icc'l.'irc tln'iiisclvcs iii(l('|n'ii(l('ii(, on (,lio 
lf>tli of NovcmlxT. rii;iX proposals liiivt^ liccu iicuU^ to houjo 
ol' tli(> most, iiillii('iili:il cliMiMclcrs o(' Si. Louis, by ;iii mccixuI- 
iU'd .Hifciit ol'dic ooiispirucy, to join in (lie |il!in." /\n(l p.iLji'.H 
inoi(> t(t lilt' sMinc t'D'cci. 

'I'licn i( \\ :is tli;i(, tlio {^cihtmI, |»«'i'(M>ivin!4' llio ^oMi'u oppor- 
tnnily, I'lilly fcsolvcd to set u|) in tin* clniriicici' of I )t'liv('r('r 
of his ( 'oMiit I V. 11(1 \\('n(, lo llic S;iliinc, p;ilrlic(l up an a,r- 
raiiji^cincnl with (lie Spaniards, pii(, cvory (Jiinj^ in (rain lor (,lio 
wilhdrawal ol' tin; Iroops (wiio rcliml cin'sinn' tlic ^'ciicrul l()r 
ordcriii!^ llicm jiway from an (>ncniy lli("y wcim cai^cr to oii- 
jj;a^('), sent lorward an olliiun- to l)c'_i;in tlic work ol" pit-paring 
Now Orloans Tor dcrcns*', and, on tiio 2ltii of Novcinbcr, ar- 
rivod tlicro liiinscit" to drlivcr a dnvotod pro\ incti rroin sp(»lia- 
tioM and rniii. 

I'rodiijjions was liis /,t^•ll, cnormoiis wcid liis labors, t(!rrib!o 
and ridiculous was tlui cXcitonicnt Im created. The eurruiit 
belief was, that th(i " eonspiraey" extended from one end of 
the Union to the other, embrat'iiiLj iinincnse nuinbeis of tho 
most wealthy and inlhiential eilizens ; that seven thousand 
iirinod men were on their way to the scene; and that iitirr, 
with a van<fuard of two thousand, was then desceiidiiiL;' tlm 
river, and mi!j;ht be expected at any moment to fall upon tho 
town; that, the city swarmed witli his adherents, who only 
awaited his airival to throw oil" the mask and assist in tho ro- 
dipttion of tin" plae(>. IMartial law was proclaimed. VVilluti- 
Hon dispatched a lieutenant to the ISritish admiral at .la.maj(;a., 
to put him on his jjjuard aj^ainst IJurr's emissaries. A public- 
ineetiiiL!;' was held, ai which Wilkinson iiai'anL!,'ue(l the excited 
multitude, and i^aA'c them a narrative of Sw.artwoufs mission, 
and of the dread se<'!-ets his acut(!ness ha<l drawn Ironi that 
aj^ent of treason. (Jovernor (laiborne, too, addressed the 
ineeliiiff, exhortinsj;' tivery citi/en to stand to the d(ifense of a 
country toppliiiL'; on the veriLfe of ruin. The voluiiteei- l)at- 
talion od'ered their Horvices ; its ranks were sweijcd by hun- 
(h'cds of re(M-uits ; and, dividing;- itself into companies, it 
paraded by day, and pati'olled by iii,L;ht, ,i;ivin<j^ tin; city tho 
appearanco of u garristjiied town. New stockaiU's woro con- 

10 



434 LIFE OF AARON BCKK. 

Struct Oil in all dirootions. A party of sixty men wero sta- 
tioned at a point some distaiioo above the city, and ordered 
to stop and thoroughly overhaul every descending crati. 
Business was at a stand-still. The crews of the vessels in 
^H>rt, AmericiUi and foreign, volunteered to ;ud in the defense 
of the city. 

Emboldened b) the general terror, and supported by ordei-s 
from the Presidents Wilkinson soon began to make ai-rests. 
Swartwout, BoUman, Ogden, and Adair, were seized, and in- 
continently shipped, per schooner, to Baltimore. A hundred 
men gallantly surroimded the hotel where General Ad:iir lived, 
:iud, seizing him as he s;it at table eating his dinner, bore him 
oft' in triumph to head-quarters. Tliere were secret sessions 
of the legislature ; there were proclamations from Governor 
Claiborne, luui from the governors o{ the adjacent territories. 
The Spai\iards were in alarm. As the news sped on its way 
to Mexico, guards were doubled, forts were repaired, and gar- 
risons were incre:vsed. The western States, agitated jill the 
summer by rumors, soon caught the infection of this new 
frenzy, and increa^ied its virulence. 

A month p;\ssed. The new year was at hand. Xo signs of 
the tlotilla yet. Wilkinson bog:\u to be iuie;isy. He was 
growing ridiculous, and he felt it. Burr's adherents, who 
comprised the elite of the young American residents piirticu- 
larly the members of the bar, recovered from the stunning 
eftect of ^^11kinson's vociferation, and ventured to oppose ,his 
violent and arbitrary proceedings^. Half the month of Janu- 
ary pjvssed, and still no riotilla. The alarm subsiding, we lind 
the grand jury prc^fitiuff WilA'inson's tn^a^ujvs as illeg;U and 
unconstitutional. The press denounced him tcvo. Comforted, 
however, by a very long, complimentary, :vnd confidential let- 
ter from «Teftei-son. he held his course, and ruled the territory 
with a high anvi mighty hand — to the wrtiihfiil disgust of 
niaiority of the An\eric;ui resident*. 

By this time the eiistern Slates had caught the alarm. 
Jeftersou had received full pirticulai-s of Swart wout's mission. 
Bollm.an and Swartwout had reachevi the seat of government, 
had been examined, .*uid discharged tor want of evidence — as 



THE EXPLOSION. 435 

well they might be, for not one unlawful act had been com- 
mitted by them. Special messages from the President, attrib- 
uting to Burr designs the most treasonable, were sent to 
Congress, where they provoked excited discussion. Military 
companies of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Boston 
wrote to the President, offering their services. The Senate 
actually passed an act suspending the writ of Habeas Corpus ; 
but the House, recovering its serenity in time, rejected the 
measure by one hundred and thirteen to nineteen. 

While the public excitement was at fever heat, General 
Eaton came forward with a deposition which raised it to the 
boiling point, and turned the tide of feeling so strongly 
against Burr that it was never reversed in his life-time, and 
has not been reversed to this day. With General Eaton, 
Burr had conversed in the same style as that which had so 
shocked the honest Morgans ; and with the more freedom, as 
he knew that Eaton felt himself aggrieved by the govern- 
ment's delaying to compensate him for his services and dis- 
bursements in Barbary. Very few weeks elapsed, after this 
deposition had been made, before Eaton's account with the 
government was settled by the payment of ten thousand dol- 
lars. In the trial, Eaton's evidence will be given at length. 
Here it is only necessary to say that his wildly-exaggerated 
version of Burr's wild talk about a separation of the western 
States, and throwing Congress into the Potomac, was the tes- 
timony which, in connection with the cipher to Wilkinson, 
convinced the people of the United States that Aaron Burr 
was a traitor. 

To return to Blennerhassett Island. 

Graham, the government's confidential agent, in the per- 
formance of the duty intrusted to him, reached Marietta, 
where the batteaux were building, about the middle of No- 
vember, and immediately obtained an interview with Blen- 
nerhassett. Passing himself off as one of Burr's confederates, 
he soon got from that unsuspecting gentleman the informa- 
tion he desired. He found Blennerhassett all enthusiasm, and 
unconscious tliat the enterprise in which he was engaged 
could be seriously objected to by any one. It was the settle- 



436 LIFE OF AAKON lU' K K . 

mont on tho "Washita that sooiuod to oiigngo his attention 
most ; tlio expedition to Mexico being a secondary and con 
ditiv>nal object. Graham, supposing- him to bo a dehided n\an, 
the tool of artful conspirators, presented hhnself, at length, in 
his true character : did his utmost to pei'suade Blennerhassett 
to abandon the enterprise, and intbrmed him that any attempt 
to descend the Ohio. with an armed force would be prevented 
by tlie authorities. Blennerhassett's ardor was cooled for a 
day or two by this interview with Graham, but the opportime 
arrival at the island of a " corps of worthies," young adven- 
turers from the city of New York, revived his hopes. His 
Avit'c, too, who was more eager for the scheme than he had 
ever been, adding her eloquence, all his old enthusiasm was 
soon rekindled, and he longed for the day of their departure. 

Graham, meaiwvhile, completed his inquiries at Mariett:\, 
and went to Chitlicothe, then the capital of the State of Ohio; 
and, laying his intbrmation betore the governor, asked the aid 
of the State in suppressing the enterprise. The legislature 
was in session. The governor sent them a secret message, to 
Avhich they promptly responded by passing an act empower- 
ing him to use tlte resources of the State for the purpose de- 
sired. He proceeded to act with energy. Tlie militia of the 
district, under command of a major-general, were called out, 
and n\arched to Marietta, where they captured the tit\een bat- 
teaux. To intercept parties from above, they were stationed 
along the banks of the river, where they occupied themselves 
with drinking whisky and playing upon one another practical 
jokes. They were as rude, undisciplined a horde of young 
backwoodsmen as have ever been assembled for mischief or 
tor pleasure. The company in charge of the captured boats 
were so careless that an attempt of a party of Burr's men to 
ivtake them came within an ace of succeeding. One of the 
boats \\*as got safely away, but before the othei-s could be set 
afloat, the militiamen were roused, and the party had to tly. 

The islanders, astounded and dismayed by these events, 
knew not what course to take. Blennei-hassett Island, like all 
the islands of the Ohio river, being part of the State of Vir- 
gini:^ tljey fell themselves safe from the authorities of Ohio. 



T M ic K X p r, o s I o N , 4:^7 

But early in December, tlie President's proclamation reached 
the neighborhoofl. Under its authority, the colonel of a mi- 
litia rcojirient in Wood county, Virginia, (;al!(Ml out his men, 
witli the intention of marching to the island, arresting the 
vvhole band of confederates, and seizing their arms and stoi-cs. 
News of this movement was brought to JJlennerhassett the 
day before the one named for its execution. As so(ni as night 
fell, four boats were hurriedly loaded, and the whoh^ p-'i'ty of 
confederates, thirty or forty in mnnlnir, end^arked and made 
the best of theii- way down the river, leaving Mrs. Blemier- 
hassett and her two little boys, with some servants, to abide 
the storm of the morrow. It was arranged that she should 
procure their " f imily boat" from Marietta, and follow the fly- 
ing band in a few days. 

'J'he next morning, the expected irruption of wild militia 
took place. The colonel, (inding the island deserted, left a 
small party in charge, and marched across one of the giant 
"bends" of the Ohio to intercept the fugitives at the mouth 
of the Great Kanawha. Ascertaining that the Vjoats had not 
yet passed that point, he stationed a company on the bank oi' 
the river with the stiictest injunctions to watch all night. It 
was a cold evening in December, however ; tiie whisky-ilask 
circulated ; a druid<en del)auch ensued ; the flotilla glided si- 
lently by, and, before daylight, was beyond puisuit. A day 
or two aftei", a party of fouite(;n young men on tiieir way 
down the liver to join the expedition, were arrested near the 
island, and conducted to it for safe keeping. A ridiculous ex- 
aiiiiiiation took place, in one of Blennerhasset's grand apart- 
ments, befoi-c three county justices, to whom the young city 
gallants paid small respect. Nothing whatever appearing 
against them, they were discharged. 

It was during this examiiuition that the sf>irit of license 
and riot broke out among the militiamen. The lady of the 
mansion had gone herself to Maiietta to demand her boat of 
the authorities, and the colonel of the militia, who was a 
gentleman an<l a soldier, was also absent. First of all, the 
men broke into the wine-cellar, and there drank themselves 
into Vandals. Then, they ranged *,he house, destroying or dis- 



438 LIFE OF AARON BURR. 

figuring wherever they went ; firing rifle-balls through painted 
ceilings, tearing down costly drapery, and dashing to pieces 
mirrors and vases. Then they rushed, like so many savages, 
about the grounds, destroying the shrubbery, and breaking 
down trellises and arbors. The ornamental fences were torn 
away, piecemeal, to make fires for the sentinels at night. In 
the midst of this riot and destruction Mrs. Blennerhassett re- 
turned ; but the embarrassments of her situation, and her 
anxiety for the success of the expedition were such, that she 
surveyed the ruin of her abode with indifierence. 

She had been refused the boat. In this dilemma, the party 
of young men who had just been released, and who were pre- 
paring to continue their journey, oifered her an apartment in 
theirs. In a few hours she was ready, and, December 17th, 
left her island in the hands of the lawless crew who had laid 
it desolate. 

Burr was still at Nashville. Graham learning that boats 
for the expedition were building on the Cumberland, hast- 
ened, after rousing Ohio and Kentucky, to put the powers of 
Tennessee on the alert. An express with the President's proc- 
lamation reached the Governor of Tennessee on the 19th, and 
preparations were made immediately to seize the boats and 
arrest the men. But timely information reached the chief. 
On the 22d, with two bodts and a few men, armed only ac- 
cording to the custom of the country, he dropped down the 
Cumberland. The next day Graham himself ari'ived at Xash- 
ville, to find the " conspirators" beyond his reach. 

At the mouth of the Cumberland, the parties met; in all, 
thirteen boats and about sixty men. Colonel Burr here briefly 
addressed the band of adventurers, drawn up on the bank of 
the Ohio. He said he had intended here to make an exposi- 
tion of his designs and plan of operations, but the events which 
had occurred obliged him to defer doing so to a future oppor- 
tunity. He should go forward, and had still confidence in the 
success of their enterprise. 

Ignorant of Wilkinson's treachery, away went Burr with 
his flotilla down the Ohio, down the Mississippi, stopping 
boldly at the forts on the banks, asking and receiving favors, 



THE EXPLOSION. 439 

and occasionally picking up a recruit or two. He wore a smil- 
ing face, and reassured every one by the cheerful serenity of 
his bearing. It was not until he reached Bayou Pierre, about 
thirty miles above Natchez, that he heard of the course which 
had been pursued by Wilkinson, and of the prodigious excite- 
ment which his measures had created in the lower country. 
There, too, he read the proclamation of the Governor of Mis- 
sissippi, charging him and his followers with being conspira- 
tors against their country, and calling on the officers of the 
government to renew their oath of fidelity to the United 
States, and give their best efforts toward crushing this nefari- 
ous plot. 

Whatever his feelings may have been at the discovery, Col- 
onel Burr never for one moment lost his self-possession ; but 
proceeded, on the very instant, to grapple with this new com- 
plication of difficulties. He wrote a public letter denying the 
truth of the governor's allegations, and asserting that he had 
no objects but such as were lawful and honorable. " If," said 
he, " the alarm which has been excited should not be appeased 
by this declaration, I invite my fellow-citizens to visit me at 
this place, and to receive from me, in person, such further ex* 
planations as may be necessary to their satisfaction, presuming 
that when my views are understood, they will receive the 
"jountenance of all good men." This letter, he requested, 
might be read to the militia, who were assembled for his ar- 
rest. 

But the excitement had risen to a height which could not 
be allayed by fine words. The news of Burr's arrival at Ba- 
you Pierre reached Natchez on the 14th of January, when the 
whole militia force of the neighborhood, who had been for 
weeks expecting the summons, seized their arms, and hurried 
to the rendezvous. In a few hours, two hundred and seventy- 
five men were ready to embark. All one cold and dismal night 
they worked their way up the river to a jioint near where the 
dread flotilla was moored. There disembai'king, they were 
joined by a troop of cavalry, and were soon in readiness to 
march against the foe. "If was thought best, however, first to 
ascertain if Colonel Burr was disposed to resist this formidable 



440 T.IF1t V'^V VVKON lU'RR. 

rtrray. or would $urrondor |v>i»ivfully to the lawful authoritiojs 
For this pur[H>^o, Gxvi-iro Poindoxtor, the Attorney-Gouenil of 
the Torritorv, and Maior Shields of the militia, visited the tlo- 
tilla, :uul had an interview with its oonnnander. 

A letter frv">m t)\e aotii\g gwernor w^s handed to Burr, who 
read it, atxvi spoke with some vVJ\ten\pt of the puhlie alarm to 
which it alluded. " As to any prv\ieots." sjiid he, *' whioh may 
have Iven tV»nned between Get^ei-al Wilkinsvm and m\-s:eU^ 
hereto^>re, they are now completely frustrated by the perfidi- 
ous Ov^nduot of Wilkinson ; and the world must prxjnounce him 
SI j>erfidious vill:uu. If I am sacritrot>d. my jx^rt -folio will prv>ve 
hiju to Iv suoh." ITe deelarori that, so ^r was he from hav- 
ing any desigt> hostile to the Unitorl States he Iiad inteuvievi 
to meet tlte governor at the general muster at Ba\-oxi Pierre. 
l*j^H>n the Attomey-O^meraN urging him to surrender, he de- 
mandevl an interview with the governor. After some fiirther 
Oi^lUvpiy, the - - n»Hi, Burr agrxving to meet Gover- 
nor Mead oi. ^ day at a desigixatevl house near by. 

The gvn-emor came at the time appointeil. and, after tueet- 
ing Burr, viemanded his uncrmditional surreuvler, and that of 
his whole |varty. to the civil authorities, and gave him fifteen 
minutes to decivie, Ko-^ ^ - - --• < :., Burr 

only request evl that if ^^ . v. . ;. .-,,,.,;. ..,,,,.. ... ^,; ^vsses. 
sivw of his jx^r^^x l\v a military tor\x\ it might be ressistevl. He 
then surrendervnl, aiui \>~:xs c^>nductevl to the neighboring town 
of Washington, wher>e two citijcens became sur^ie* for his 
ay vart on the f " r day, in ;' - 

tl V V... .. ... ...jk. llis men .v.— vd in the \ v v, .0 

fiotilla. 

A cv^urt of jt»$tic>? wsis to Aar.\n Burr \»-hat his native heath 
>»~as to MacGrx>gv>r. Oix that field he w:*5 mvincible. It w«s 
iMxly after wt»rm vliscussions that it was cv>nclvided that he 
couKl K> ' ■ ' "^ 'vovl in the Territv>ry. Ttxe next step was to 
gvt him V some oftens»(.\ A grMxd jury was imj\an 

neUnl. and witnesssi^ werv sent in to them. Imagine the 1^ 
ingsi of the Aitorney-Oxnieral when he read the Tt>suh of alt 
his toils in the t r pres<~ < : 

**The grsuul jur\ c. the M;s>v>;jji Territory, on a due ii>- 



T n IC K X !• 1.(>S T ON. 441 

vcstlc^alion of tho cvidoTioe brontjlit boforo tliom, aro of opin- 
ion tliat Aaron IIiut has not- hvvu guilty of any orinio or 
luisdcMucanor atjainsl tho laws of tho Ihiiti'd States, or of tliis 
Territory; or given any just cause of alarm or in(piietudo to 
the good people of the same. 

" The grand jurors present, as a grievance, tlie late military 
expedition, umu>cessarily, as they conceive, fitted out against 
the person and property of the said Aaron Hurr, when no re- 
sistance liad been made to t!i(> civil authorities. 

"The gr;uid jurors also |)resen(, as a grievance, destructive 
of personal liberty, the late military arrests, mad(! without 
wariMut, and, as they conceive, without other lawful :uilhor- 
ity ; and they do sincerely regret that ho much cause lias been 
given to tlu< eiuMuies of our glorious Oonslitution, to rejoico 
at such measures being adoi)ted, in a neighboring Territory, 
as, if saru'.tioned by the Executive of our country, must sap 
the \ ilals of oin- political existence, and ciiimblo this glorious 
fabric in the dust." 

It was of no avail for the Att()rney-( Jeneral to (b'clare tliat 
such [jresentments were a disgrace and :iu outrage, nor for tho 
Judge to pronounce them impertinent and useless. The peo- 
|)le wer(> with the prisoner. Nothing approaching or icsom- 
bling a breach of the law had been committed by him ; :md, 
in short, tln> grand jury had made uj) its mind, .and would not 
recede from its position. 

His companions were at perfect liberty. A Natchez nevvs- 
[)aper of tlu; time, comnu'nting on this attempt to indict, saya 
that " Ibirr and his men were cdressed by a nund)er of the 
wealthy nu-rchants and planters of A(bims county ; several 
balls were given to theiji as marks of respc^ct and coniitleuce." 
Also, " that the proceedings against the accused were more 
lik(f a mock trial than a criminal |»rosecution, ami that, during 
(he trial, Judge IJruin .appeared nu)re like his advocate than 
his impartial judge." AH of which is extremely probable. 

Having, as he thought, fully complied with his recogni/ances, 
(-olonel l]urr<lemauded a legal release I'lom the court. Thi(J 
Avas refused. Learning that further an<l more arbitrary pro- 
ceedings were intended against him by the government ofH- 

)9* 



442 T, T -P E OF AAEON B F E E . 

oials, ami perceiving tlie utter hopelessness of attempting- to 
proceed, nuil that his presence must embarrass, but eouhi not 
assist this band, he resolved to tiy. Pisguising himself in tlie 
dress of a boatman, he crossed to the eastern side of the Missis- 
sippi and disappeared in the wilderness. 

At the meeting of the court on the following morning, he, 
f course, did not present himself, and there was a great show 
of surprise. The governor, who, it is said, had connived at 
his escape, promptly ottered two thousand dollars for his arrest. 
Two or tlirce davs i>assed without anv tidinos of the fn>iitive, 
though the surrounding country was scoured by parties in 
search. At length, a colored boy wjvs seen, opposite where 
the ilotilla lay, riding one of Burr's horses, and Avearing an 
overcoat that had been his. He was seized forthwith, and 
thoroughly searched. Sewed in the cape of the coat was 
found a note addressed to " C. T. and D. F." (Comfort Tyler 
and Davis Floyd, leading mr!! in the expedition), which read 
as follows : " If you are yet together, keep so, and I will join 
you to-morrow night. In the mean while, put all your arms 
in perfect order. Ask no questions of the bearer, but tell him 
all you may thiiik I wish to know. He does not know that 
this is from me, nor where I am." 

In consequence of this discovery. Burr's men were arrested, 
placed under guard, and kept as prisoners until the alarm was 
over. But no further trace ot' the chief was seen in the neigh- 
borhood. He had letV the vicinity, and was making his way 
through a dismal wilderness, toward the port of Pensacola, 
where lay a British mau-ot-war, in which he hoped to tind a 
t emporary refuge. 

Bleunerhassett, at\er his discharge from custody, returned 
homeward, and had reached Kentucky, when he was again 
arrested and committed to prison, on a charge of treason. 
Others of Burr's confederates, who had the means, returned to 
the eastern States, ami tbrgot the dream of glory in the pur- 
suits of civil lite. A large number of the baud remained in 
the Territory, supplying it, as the Attorney-General afterward 
remarked, with a supertiuity of school-mastei"s, music-masters, 
and dancing-mastei'S, for many years. The nnrrative of these 



THE EXPLOSION. 443 

events, published in all the newspapers of the land, drew pub- 
lic attention to the south-western Territories of the Union, and 
attracted (says Dr. Monette, the historian of the Valley of 
the Mississippi) thousands of emigrants thither from the At- 
lantic and western States. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

THE A RE EST, 

BCTER EeCOONIZED — TUE PURSPIT — BtTRR CAPTIVATES THE SHERIFF — ISTEKVIEW 

Between Bcru and Captain Gaines — Tub Arrest — Burr's Deportment as a 
Prisoner — IIis Departure from Fort Stoddakt — The Journey thkough the 
"W'iluerness — Anecdote — Burr's Appeal to the People — Arrival at Rich- 
mond — Examination Before Chief Justice Marshall — Burr Defends Him- 
self — Admitted to Bail — Jefferson. 

Ox a cold evening in February, two young lawyers were 
Inlaying backganunon in a cabin of the village of Wakefield, 
Washington county, Alabama. The hour of ten had arrived, 
and they were still absorbed in the game, when the distant 
tramp of horses arrested their attention. Two travelers rode 
up to the door, one of whom, without dismounting, inquired 
for the tavei'n. It was pointed out to him. He then asked 
the road to Colonel Ilinson's, a noted resident of the vicinity. 
One of tlie lawyers, Perkins by name, replied that the house 
was seven miles distant, the road exceedingly difficult to find, 
and there was a dangerous creek to be crossed. 

While lie was explaining the road, the light of their pine- 
wood fire Hashed occasionally upon the countenance of the 
traveler, who had asked the questions. Perkins gazed upon 
the face as though it fascinated him. The eyes of the stranger 
sparkled like diamonds, as he sat, composed and erect, upon a 
superb horse, better caparisoned than was usual in the wilder- 
ness. His dress was the rude homespun of the country, but 
the quick eye of Perkins observed that his boots were far too 
elegantly shaped, and of materials much too fine, to accord 
with the coarse, ill-cut, pantaloons from which they protruded. 

The travelers rode on. Perkins's suspicions were aroused. 
The striking features of the man with whom he had conversed, 
the inonnofruity of his dress, his superior air, the lateness of 



THE ARREST. 445 

the hour for strangers to be abroad in a region so wild and 
unknown, all confirmed the impression which had been left on 
his mind. Rushing into the cabin-, he exclaimed, 

"That is Aaron Burr ! I have read a description of him in 
the proclamation. I can not be mistaken. Let us follow him 
to Hinson's, and take measures for his arrest." 

His companion, not so easily moved, ridiculed the project 
of pursuing a traveler at so late an hour, merely on a conjec- 
ture ; and, in short, refused to go. But Perkins, not deterred 
from his purpose, hastened to a neighboring cabin, roused the 
sheriff of the county, and told him his story. In a few min- 
utes the two men were equipped and mounted, and rode off at 
a rapid 2:)ace through the pine woods. 

The mysterious travelers, meanwhile, made their way to 
Colonel Hinson's residence. Hinson was absent from home. 
His wife, roused by theii- halloo, rose, peeped through a small 
window, and, seeing by their holsters and accoutrements that 
they were strangers, made no reply to them, but quietly closed 
the window, and returned to bed. The strangers alii^hted 
and entered the kitchen, where a cheerful fire was still burning. 

Shortly after Perkins and the sheriff came in sight of the 
house. The former remained behind in the woods, while the 
sheriff went forward to reconnoiter, acfreeinar to return to 
Perkins as soon as he should have discovered any thing ot 
importance. According to custom, the sheriff hailed the 
house, when the lady, reassured by hearing a well-known 
voice, descended to entertain her midnight guests. 

Tlie sheriff entered the kitchen, the strangers eyeing him 
keenly. Supper was soon ready, and the party sat down to 
it, Perkins, meanwhile, shivering in the woods, and wondering 
that his confederate dfd not return. As the meal progressed, 
the traveler with the sparkling eyes led the conversation in 
so sprightly a manner, was so polite and grateful to the lad}), 
and made himself so agreeable generally, that the heart of 
the sheriff relented. He came to arrest, and remained to ad- 
mire. The lady, too, was charmed with her guest's amiable 
manners. The repast ended, the captivating stranger returned 
to tlie kitchen fire, leaving his companion at the table. Now 



446 L I F E O P' A A R O N B U R K . 

■was the sheviff's opportunity. Whispering his suspicions to 
the h^dy of the house, he induced her to make the important 
inquiry. 

"Have I not," said she to the traveler who still sat at the 
table, " the honor of entertaining Colonel Burr, the gentle- 
man who has just walked out?" 

The individual addressed (a country guide) not being an 
adept in dij^lomacy, showed palpable signs of embarrassment 
at the question. lie made no reply whatever, but immedi- 
atel}'^ rejoined his companion in the kitchen. The subject was 
not resumed. At\er some further, and very agreeable courte- 
ous conversation, the strangers went to bed, and the sheriff, 
unwilling to encounter the impetuosity of Perkins, and re- 
solved to take no part in arresting so amiable a gentleman, 
stretched himself before the tire, and slept. In the morning 
the traveler breakfasted, inquired the road to Pensacola, 
thanked the lady, again and again, for her hospitable atten- 
tions, and rode off, the sheriff actually accompanying them 
as their guide for a short distance liefore returning home. 

Perkins remained at his post in the woods until his patience 
was exhausted. Suspecting, at last, that his confederate had 
fallen a prey to the blandishments of a man renowned for his 
seductive manners, this indomitable son of the wilderness was 
only the more resolved upon effecting the arrest. Riding, 
with furious ha^te, to Mannahubba Bluff, he borrowed a canoe 
and a negro from a friend, paddled down the Alabama, and 
arrived, as the day was breaking, at Fort Stoddart. Rushing 
into the fort, he informed the commandant, Captain Gaines 
(at>erward the well-known 3Iajor-General Gaines) of his sus- 
picions. Gaines entered into Perkins's project with such spirit, 
that by sunrise, Avith a file of dragoons, he and Perkins rode 
out of the fort toward the Pensacola road. 

About nine in the morning, they met the two travelers de- 
scending a hill, not more than two miles from Ilinson's house, 
when Captain Gaines rode forward and addressed the suspected 
personage. 

" I presume, sir," said he, " that I have the honor of address- 
ing Colonel Burr." 



THE AKRKST, 447 

"I am a traveler in the country," replied the stranger, "and 
do not recognize yom- right to ask such a question." 

Whereupon, Gaines said, " I arrest you at the instance of 
the federal Government." 

"By what authority do you arrest a traveler upon the 
highway, on his own private business?" asked the stranger. 

" I am an officer of the army," answered the captain. " I 
hold in my hands the proclamations of the President and the 
Governor, directing your arrest," 

" You are a young man," rejoined the traveler, "and may 
not be aware of the responsibilities which result from arresting 
travelers." 

" I am aware of the responsibilities," said Gaines, " but I 
know my duty." 

The traveler now broke into an animated and eloquent de- 
nunciation of those proclamations, protesting his innocence, 
asserting that the charges against liim originated in the ma- 
levolence of his enemies, and ])ointing out to Gaines the liabil- 
ities he would incur if he should arrest him. 

But Gaines, assuming a severe aspect, replied, " My mind is 
made up. You must accompany me to Fort Stoddart, where 
you shall be treated with all tlie respect due to one who has 
been Vice-President of the United States, so long as you 
make no attempt to escape from me." 

The traveler looked at him for a few moments, apparently 
surprised at this unwonted firmness ; then, with an inclination 
of the head, indicated his willingness to accompany the young 
officer. He bade good-by to his guide, who returned to 
Wakefield, wheeled his horse round, and rode by the captain's 
side towards the fort, conversing on the way, with hih' usual 
nonchalance, on ordinary topics. Arriving at the fort early 
in the evening. Colonel Burr — lor Colonel Burr it was — was 
shown to a room, Avhere he dined alone, and sat reading to a 
late hour, while the tread of the sentinel was heard without. 

In the night, it is related, he heard a groan in the room ad- 
joining. He left his book, and, entering the apartment, saw 
the sick brother of Captain Gaines lying in bed. He spoke 
tenderly to the suffi^rer, inquired his complaint, felt of his 



448 LIFE OF AAKOX BUEK. 

pulse, told him he had traveled much, aud kne\v something 
of medicine, and offered his services. The sick man revived 
under his gentle touch and encouraging tones, and entered 
into conversation with his distinguished nurse. Burr made 
many inquiries of the patient, who was a Choctaw trader, re- 
specting the Indians, their ways, and commerce. The conver- 
sation was singularly clieerful and pleasant, and completely 
won the good will of the sick merchant. 

The next day Colonel Burr was pi'esented to the wife of 
the commandant, dined with the family, played several games 
of chess with the lady, and bore himself, in all respects, as he 
would have done in a drawins-i-oom of Philadelphia or Xew 
York. Every night he sat by the bedside of Mr. Gaines, ad- 
ministering his medicines, and cheering him by his animated, 
inteUigent conversation. The patient became warmly at- 
tached to him, and mourned deeply over his many misfor- 
tunes ; but, with all their inthnacy and tbndness, not the 
slightest alkision to Burr's situation ever passed the lips of 
either. Day by day, the prisoner mingled gayly in the nar- 
row circle of the fort, phiyed his games of chess, wou every 
one's heart, and appeared to give himself no concern respect- 
ing the future. 

Two weeks passed. Captain Gaines had resolved to send 
his prisoner direct to the seat of government, a thousand 
miles distant, four or tive hundred miles of which la;» through 
a nearlv unbroken wikierness. He had been but^v during 
those two weeks in preparing an expedition for the safe con- 
duct of the prisoner, and on the oth of March his arrange- 
ments were complete, and the journey was begun. The tears 
of the ladies residing at the fort fell tivst as Colonel Burr, es- 
corted by a tile of soldiei-s, went down to the shore and em- 
barked on board the boat provided for the ascent of the 
Alabama. He had no enemies there. The men could have 
no ill-will to one whose offense had been a desire to terminate 
the hateful rule of the Spaniards; and women were always 
and everywhere his friends. As the boat, with its crew of 
soldiei-s, glided past the few houses on the river's bank, all the 
ladies, it is said, waved their handkerchiets, except those who 



T II 10 A nu icsT. 440 

were obliged to put those weiipons to :i tenderer who. One of 
the hidies of the Alabama named her hifant Aaron Burr ; 
and he was not the only young gentleman in the South-west 
who bore through life a similar reeord of the events ainid 
which he was born. 

Above Lake Tensau, Llie party dis('mbarlv<M|, and tli(( pris- 
oner was formally given into tlut custody of the guard who 
were to conduct him through the wilderness to the Atlantic 
States. This guard consisted of niiu! men, •(•()mmanded by 
the redoubtable l*erkins, who had selected and e([uipped the 
party. ]>efore taking the final plunge into the forest-, I'erkins, 
fearful of Burr's fascinating powers, and mindful of their re- 
cent eifect upon his friend the sherilf, took liis band aside, 
warned them of the danger, required from each a solemn 
promise to steel his soul against the ]»iisoner's winning art,s, 
and indeed to avoid all conversation with him, except such as 
should be strictly necessary. All having given their word of 
honor to the effect required, the order was given to prepare 
for an immediate start. 

The prisoner still wore the dress in whicli he had lied from 
the Mississippi. It consisted, we are told,* of coarse, home- 
spun pantaloons of the color of copperas, a jacket of common 
drab cloth, and an old hat, with a broad, lla|)ping brim. It 
was said, as he bestrode the sui)erb horse which lie had 
ridden at the time of his capture, his hat hanging over his 
face, but not concealing his brilliant eyes, that his ap))earanco 
and bearing were as distinguished as when, seated in the chair 
of olfice, he had presided over the Senate of the United 
States. When the guard had mounted, and the word was 
given to march, he said good-by to the few by-standers in a 
cheerful voice, and took the place assigned him in the file. 

The ]tarty struck into the woods by the Indian trail, and 
marched, from necessity, in the Indian maimer — the gigantic 
I'ei'kins at the; head of the line, the prisoner in the middle. 

* Most of tlio facts and incidonts relating to Burr's arrest, wcro derived 
fioin the oxcellent history of Alabama, by Mr. A. J. Pickett, who collected 
tliom from oyn-witnossos, or from persons to whom they had boon related by 
oyo-witQCsscs. 



iSO LIFE OF AAKON BUKK. 

At night, the only tent carried bj the party was pitched and 
assigned to Burr, who slept guarded by armed men and lulled 
by the howling of innumerable wolves. He slept soundly. 
Rising with the dawn, the tirst to be in readiness for the day's 
march, he took his place with alacrity in the line. The men 
were very attentive to his wants, and treated him with the 
respect due rather from an escort than a guard. He, on his 
part, was most com-teous to them, and a kind of silent fiiend- 
ship grew up between them. 

It was a perilous and fatiguing march. For several days in 
succession, the chilling spring rains fell in torrents upon the 
unprotected hoi-semen, swelling the rivulets to rivers, and the 
creeks to rushing floods. Sometimes, the whole party were 
swimming their horses over a rapid stream. Often, they 
toiled wearily through mire, more dangerous than the flood 
itself Hundreds of Indians thronged their pathway. But, 
amid angry elements, wild beasts, vast swamps, boundless for- 
ests, and treacherous savages, the dauntless Perkins held his 
course, marching swiftly at the head of his company, and urg- 
ing them along at the rate of forty miles a day. In the journey 
through Alabama, says the historian of that State, the party 
always slept in the woods, near swamps of reeds, upon which 
the horses, " belled and hobbled," fed during the night. " Af- 
ter breakfast, it was their custom again to mount their horses 
and march on, with a silence which was sometimes broken by 
a remark about the weather, the creeks, or the Indians. Bun- 
sat firmly in the saddle, was always on the alert, and was a 
most excellent rider. Although drenched for hours with cold 
and clammy i-ain, and at night extended upon a thin pallet, on 
the bare ground, after having accomplished a ride of forty 
miles, yet, in the whole distance to Richmond, this remarka- 
ble man was never heard to complain that he was sick, or even 
latigued." 

It was ten days before they reached again the abodes of the 
white man. Occasionally, as they approached the settlements, 
they would find an Indian in possession of a crossing place on 
a river, with canoes for the conveyance of travelers. Then, 
they would place their stores in the canoes, and paddle over. 



THE ARREST. 451 

leading their swimming horses. The first roof that sheltered 
the party was that of a small tavern, near Fort Wilkinson, on 
tlie river Oconee, about eighty miles from the boundary line 
between Georgia and South Carolina. The arrival of so ex- 
traordinary a party at this remote place of entertainment 
seems to have astonished the landlord. While breakfist was 
getting ready, and the guard and their prisoner were sitting 
quietly around the fire, he began to ask them a series of ex- 
tremely disagreeable questions. Learning that they came 
from the Tombigbec settlement, he hit at once upon the pre- 
vailing topic, and asked the news respecting Aaron Burr, the 
traitor! Had he yet been arrested ? Was he not a very bad 
man ? Was not every body afraid of him ? To these and 
other questions of the kind, Perkins and his men could make 
no -reply, but hung down their heads in extreme embarrass- 
ment, full of sympathy for their captive. Burr, who was sit- 
ting in a corner near the fire, raised liis head, and, fixing his 
blazing eyes upon the unsuspecting landlord, said, 
"I am Aaron Burr — what is it you want with me ?" 
The poor landlord, amazed at the information, and struck 
with the majestic manner of the man, stood agliast, and, with 
out a syllable of reply, glided about the house, oflering the 
party the most obsequious attentions. 

Two days more brought them to the confines of South Car- 
olina, where Burr from of old had been a popular favorite, 
and where, on his visits to Theodosia, he had ever been 
warmly welcomed, and made many personal friends. Per- 
kins knew the difficulty he sliould have in conveying, with such 
a force as his, a prisoner like Burr through that State, and he 
exhorted his men to renewed vigilance. By keeping w^ell to 
the nortli, he avoided the larger settlements until he readied 
the district of Chester, which was only one day's march from 
North Carolina. As he approached the principal village of 
this district, he halted tlie party, and changed the order of 
their march, placing two men in front of the prisoner, two 
more beliind, and one at each side of him. In this manner 
they proceeded, without incident, until they passed near a 
tavern, before which a considerable number of persons were 



452 LIFE OF AARON BURK. 

standincr, while music and dancinor were heard from within. 
Here, Burr threw himself from his horse, and exclaimed in a 
loud voice, 

" I am Aaron Burr, under military arrest, and claim the pro- 
tection of the civil authorities." 

Perkins snatched his pistols from his holster, sprang to the 
ground, and in an instant was at the side of his prisoner. 
With a pistol in each hand, he sternly ordered him to re- 
mount. 

" IiciU not .^" shouted Burr in his most defiant manner. 

Perkins,"unwilling to shed blood, but resolute to execute 
the commission intrusted to him, threw his pistols upon the 
ground, caught the prisoner round the waist with the resist- 
less grasp of a frontiersman, and threw him into the saddle. 
One of the guard seizing the bridle of Burr's horse, led him 
rapidly away, and the whole party swept through the village 
in a mass, and disappeared, before the group of spectators had 
recovered from their astonishment at the scene. 

A mile or two beyond the village, Perkins halted the party 
to consult with his comrades. Burr was wild with excitement. 
The indifference of the people, the personal indignity he had 
suffered, the thought of his innocence of any violation of the 
law, the triumph his enemies were about to have over him, 
all rushed upon his mind, and, for a minute, unmanned him. 
Perkins used to say that, when the party halted, he found his 
prisoner in a flood of tears, and that the man who led his 
horse, touched by the spectacle of flxUen greatness, was also 
crying. It may have been so. Never had mortal man to en- 
dure more of what is called mortification than Aaron Burr at 
that moment ; and if, for an instant, he lost that amazing selt 
command which he exhibited all through his unexampled mis- 
fortunes, it was pardonable, and it was bixt once. 

After conversing with his men, Perkins sent them forward 
with the prisoner, under the command of his lieutenant, and 
returned himself to Chester, where he bought a gig, and re- 
joined the party before night. Burr was then transferred to 
the vehicle, with one of the guard to drive, and, in that man- 
ner, traveled the remainder of the distance. At Frederics- 



THE ARREST. 453 

burg, Perkins was met by orders from Wasliington to con- 
vey the prisoner to Ridimond, where the party arrived on the 
26th of March. They liad accomplished the jonrney in the 
remarkably short period of twenty-one days. Arriving on the 
evening of Thursday, the prisoner was taken to the Eagle 
Tavern, where he remained, under guard, until Monday morn- 
ing. 

The morning after his arrival, he wrote a short note to his 
daughter, announcing the fact. " It seems," he added, " that 
here the business is to be tried and concluded. I am to be 
surrendered to the civil authority to-morrow, when the ques- 
tion of bail is to be determined. In the mean time, I remain 
at the Eagle Tavern." 

A letter whicli he wrote to her some days after is worthy 
of note. It was long a puzzle in my mind, whether the fol- 
lowing passage was written in joke or earnest. It was un- 
doubtedly written in earnest. He really felt J?<5< so respecting 
his own character and conduct : " You have read to very little 
purpose if you have not remarked that such things happen in 
all democratic governments. Was there in Greece or Rome 
a man of viitue and independence, and supposed to possess 
great talents, who was not the object of vindictive and unre- 
lenting persecution ? Now, madame, I pray you to amuse 
yourself by collecting and collating all the instances to be 
found in ancient history, which you may connect together, if 
you please, in an essay, with reflections, comments, and appli- 
cations. * * * I promise myself great pleasure in the 
perusal, and I promise you great satisfaction and consolation 
in the composition." 

Theodosia, as may be imagined, was overwhelmed by this 
new calamity. How fondly she had indulged in the dream- that 
bier father's misfortunes were at an end, and that she should 
see him the glorious and powerful head of a nation created 
by his own genius ! Or, if not that, yet the leading spirit of 
a prosperous and refined community, of which she, too, sliould 
be a member ! For many days, she forgot her fiither's count- 
less exhortations to fortitude, and remained stupefied with 
sorrow. She recovered her serenity, ere long, and had then 



454 LIFE OF AAKON BURR. 

no thought but to fly to Richmond to be at his side during 
the scenes that were before him. In a few weeks she and her 
husband began their melancholy journey northward. 

On Monday, Major Scott, the marshal of the district, at- 
tended by two deputies, waited ui^on the prisoner, and, with 
the utmost respectfulness of manner, conducted him, " through 
an awfully silent and attentive assemblage of citizens," to an- 
other apartment of the hotel, where he was brought before 
Chief Justice Marshall for examination. This examination was 
merely preliminary to commitment, which was strenuously 
opposed by Burr and his counsel. 

In a brief but forcible speech. Colonel Burr denied that 
there was the smallest ground for even an accusation against 
him. The country, he said, had been causelessly alarmed. 
Wilkinson had alarmed the President, and the President had 
alarmed the country. He appealed to facts which were known 
to all ; to the history of his arrangements in the West ; to the 
promptness with which he had met every charge ; and to the 
nnanimity with which juries had acquitted him. If there had 
been any cause of alarm, it must have been known to the 
people in that part of the country where liis offense was said 
to have been committed. The manner of his descent of the 
river was proof enough that his object was purely peaceable 
and agricultural. He declared that all his designs were hon- 
orable, and calculated to be beneficial to the United States. 
His flight, as it was termed, had been mentioned as a proof 
of guilt ; but it was only from the resistless arm of military 
despotism that he had fled. Was it his duty to remain sur- 
rounded by armed men assembled for his unlawful capture ? 
He thought not. He took the advice of his best friends, pur- 
sued the dictates of his own judgment, and abandoned a 
country where the laws had ceased to be the sovereign power. 
The charge stated in a handbill, that he had forfeited his re- 
cognizance, was false. He had forfeited no recognizance. If 
he had forfeited any recognizance, why had no proceedings 
takeu place for the breach of it ? If he was to be prosecuted 
foi- such breach, he wished to know why he was brought to 
this place ? Why not carry him to the place where the 



THE AEKEST. 456 

breach happened ? More than three months had elapsed since 
the order of government had issued to seize and bring him to 
that place ; yet it was pretended, that sufficient time had not 
been allowed to adduce testimony in support of the prosecu- 
tion. He asked why the guard, who conducted him to that 
place, avoided every magistrate on the way, unless from a con 
viction that they were acting without lawful authority ? Why 
had he been debarred the use of pen and ink, and paper, and 
not even permitted to write to his daughter ? In the State 
of South Carolina, where he happened to see three men to- 
gether, he demanded the interposition of the civil authority ; 
it was from military despotism, from the tyranny of a military 
escort, that he wished to be delivered, not from an investiga- 
tion into his conduct, or from the operation of the laws of his 
country. 

After an argument of three days' duration, the Chief Just- 
ice decided to commit the prisoner on the charge of misde- 
meanor only, leaving the charge of treason to be investigated 
by the grand jury. By this decision Colonel Burr wa-s freed 
from the immediate apprehension of imprisonment. Five gen- 
tlemen of Richmond gave bonds in the sum of ten thousand 
dollars for the appearance of the prisoner at the next circuit 
court of the United States, to be held at Richmond ori the 
22d of May. He was then discharged from custody. 

Innocent as he was of the slightest infraction of the law, he 
now saw that it was necessary to prepare for an arduous con- 
flict in the court. It was not merely that the deposition of 
Eaton and the dispatches of Wilkinson had turned the tide of 
public opinion so strongly against him, that an unbiased jury 
could not be found in all Virginia. The serious circumstance 
was, that the President, by his proclamations and by his mes- 
sages to Congress, bad conspicuously committed himself to the 
opinion of Burr's guilt. He had so frightened the country 
from its propriety, that to escape being overwhelmed with 
ridicule, he must get his prisoner convicted of the fell designs 
which he had publicly attributed to him. Not that Jefferson 
had the least doubt of Burr's guilt. His familiar letters written 
in the spring of 1807, show that he implicitly believed the 



456 LIFE OF AAEOX BURR. 

story he bad told the people. "Burr's enterprise," wrote 
Jeilerson, January 1 1th, " is the most extraordinary since the 
days of Don Quixote. It is so extravagant that those who 
know his understanding would not believe it if the proofs ad- 
mitted doubt. He has meant to place himself on the throne 
of Montezuma, and extend his empire to the Alleghany, seiz- 
ing on Xew Orleans as the instrument of compulsion for our 
western States." 

How nonsensical is this! What impossibilities does this 
closet-wise man attribute to his late companion and rival ! By 
what means imaginable could the western States be compelled 
to yield submission to a usurper at New Orleans ? The States 
of this Union are so constituted and circumstanced, that trea- 
son of the kind attributed to Aaron Burr is a simple and man- 
ifest impossibihty ! There is no part of Jefferson's long and 
glorious career in which he appears to so little advantage as 
during the period we are now considering. His mind was 
absurdly excited. One of his letters to Senator Giles, written 
a few days after Burr's first examination at Richmond, speaks 
of the tricks of the judges in hastenino- the trial so as to clear 
Burr; rails at the Federalists, saying that they were dlsai)- 
pointed at Burr's failure to rend the Union. If, said he, Bun- 
had succeeded ever so partially, the Federalists were ready 
to join him in the attempt to overthrow " this hated republic," 
and introduce " their favorite monarchy." At first, he adds, 
the Federalists accused the President of permitting "treason 
to stalk through the land in open day ;" but now^ they com- 
plain because he crushed it before it had ripened to an overt 
act. " As if an exj^ress could go to Xatchez, or to the mouth 
of the Cumberland, and return, in five weeks, to do which has 
never taken less than twelve." Ho proceeds to denounce the 
federal judges, of whom John Marshall was the chief, in a man- 
ner Avhich shows that philosophers are sometimes angry, and 
that sages are not alwavs wise. He wrote also to Governor 
Pinckney of South Caroluia, telling him that Alston Avas im- 
plicated with Burr, had traveled, solicited, endorsed for Burr; 
and inquiring whether it would be advisable to take any meas- 
ures against him. In one word, the real prosecutor of Aaron 



THE ARREST. 457 

Burr, throughout tliis business, was Thomas Jofferson, Presi 
dent of the United States, who was made President of tlip 
United States by Aaron Bun's tact and vigilance, and who 
was able therefore to wield against Aaron Burr the power and 
resources of tlie United States, 

^ It was not without trutli, then, that Colonel Burr wrote in 
the early stages of the trial : " The most indeflitigable indus- 
try is used by the agents of government, and they have money 
at command without stint. If I were possessed of the same 
means, I could not only foil the prosecutors, but render them 
ridiculous and infamous. The democratic papers teem with 
abuse against me and ray counsel, and even against the Chief 
Justice. Nothing is left undone or unsaid which can tend to 
prejudice the public mind, and produce a conviction without 
evidence. The machinations of this description which were 
used against Moreau in France were treated in this country 
with indignation. They are practiced against me in a still 
more impudent degree, not only with impunity, but with ap- 
plause ; and the authors and abettors Suppose, with reason, 
that- they are acquiring favor with the administration." 

20 



CHAPTEE XXY. 

THE INDICTMENT. 

Teuj Concotjrse at Richmond — Gekeral Jackson Denoitnces Jejtekson — Win- 
field Scott in the Court-room — The Lawyers — George Hat — William 
Wirt — MacRae — Burr's Manner and Appearance in Court — Edmund Ran- 
dolph — William Wickham — Luther Martin — Benjamin Botts — Jack Bakeb 

— The Grand Jury" — Motion to Commit — The Argument — Wirt's Speech 

— Burr's Reply — Waiting for Wilkinson — Treason Defined — The Sub- 
vcENA Duces Tecum — Indictments Found — Burr rar Prison — Theodosia's 
Arrival — Barney's Recollections. 

The court convened on the appointed day, Maj^ 22d, 1807. 
Richmond, itself a city of six thousand inhabitants, and the 
social metropolis of Virginia, was thronged with strangers — 
all eager to witness the opening scenes of a trial more remark- 
able than any which had yet taken place in the infant repub- 
lic. Besides the magnates of Virginia, General Jackson was 
there, full of wrath against the administration for its perse- 
cution of his innocent friend, the prisoner. The story that 
Colonel Burr, in his later years, used often to tell of General 
Jackson's mounting the steps of a corner grocery at Rich- 
mond, and declaiming fm-iously against Jefferson for the part 
he had taken in crushing the expedition and its author, is 
contirmed by the testimony of the most distinguished of the 
living public men of the United States. " As I was crossing 
the court-house green," said this gentleman to the writer, " I 
heard a great noise of haranguing at some distance off. Inquir- 
ing what it was, I was told it was a great blackguard from Ten- 
nessee, one Andrew Jackson, making a speech for Burr, and 
damning Jefferson as a persecutor." Besides Jackson, there 
were a number of Burr's friends from New York, and a host 
of persons from the West who had been his confederates, and 
who were now summoned as witnesses against him. Includ- 



THE INDICTMENT. 459 

ing witnesses, jurymen, and lawyers, there were not less than 
two hundred persons in Richmond who had some official con- 
nection with the trial. 

The struggles for admission to the hall were terrible. So 
great was the number of distinguished persons claiming seats 
within the bar, that lawyers of twenty years' standing were 
excluded from their accustomed places, and thought them- 
selves fortunate to get within the walls. John Randolph, Sen- 
ator Giles, and many other public men, were present. Among 
the young gentlemen of the town who had succeeded in forc- 
ing their way into the room was Winfield Scott, then just ad- 
mitted to the bar. He stood on the massive lock of the great 
door, above the crowd, in full view of the prisoner, who ob- 
served and long remembered the towering form of the most 
magnificent youth in Virginia. 

Two judges sat upon the bench, John Marshall, Chief Just- 
ice of the Supreme Court of the United States, and Cyrus 
Griffin, Judge of the District of Virginia. The Chief Justice, 
in his tifty-second year (one year older than the prisoner), was 
a tall, slender man, with a majestic head, without one gray 
hair, with eyes the finest ever seen, except Burr's, large, black, 
and brilliant beyond description. It was often remarked dur- 
ing the trial, that two such pairs of eyes had never looked into 
one another before. The soul of dignity and honor, prudent, 
courageous, alive to censure, but immovably resolute to do 
right, John Marshall was the Washington of the bench. Not 
a brilliant man, not a great man, but an honest man, and a 
just judge. Jefferson, with his strange convictions of Burr's 
guilt, could not, and never could, comprehend the decisions 
of the Chief Justice upon this trial. He so far forgot himself 
as to insinuate that party feelings influenced those decisions 
of the Chief Justice; as though John Marshall, the Federalist, 
could be biased iii favor, of the man who had deprived his 
party of its chief, and himself of an honored and valued 
friend ! Gentlemen of the profession who witnessed the trial, 
who saw the effective dignity with which the judge presided 
over the court, who heard him read those opinions, so elabo- 
rate and right, though necessarily pi-epared on the spur of 



460 LIFE OF AAKON BURR. 

the moment, regarded it as the finest display of judicial skill 
and judicial rectitude which they had ever beheld. 

The counsel employed in the case comprised the ablest men 
of the bar of Virginia, with one powerful recruit from Mary- 
land. First in technical rank, but neither first nor second in 
ability, was George Hay, the prosecuting attorney. He was 
Colonel Monroe's son-in-law ; a warm Jetifersouian ; much ad- 
dicted to the production of those long-winded political disqui- 
sitions of which the readers of that age were so fond ; a most 
respectable and zealous man, but, on this occasion, " over- 
weighted." He did his best with an impossible cause, against 
five of the ablest lawyers of the day ; but, with the aid of 
almost daily letters from Jefferson, teeming with suggestions 
for the conduct of the case, he showed incompetence at every 
stage of the proceedings. He was assisted by William Wirt, 
then only thirty-five years of age, just rising into eminence, 
but greatly and justly admired at the Richmond bar for his 
splendid declamation. Among the lawyers assembled that 
day within the bar, there was not one whose rising to speak 
so instantaneously hushed the spectators to silence as his. A 
handsome, fortunate, happy, brilliant, high-minded man was 
William Wirt, the toil of whose life-time it was to achieve 
those solid attainments which alone make brilliancy of utter- 
ance endurable in a court of justice. At the personal request 
of Jefferson himself, Mr. Wirt undertook to aid the prosecu- 
tion, and he did it yeoman's service. Alexander MacRae, the 
thii'd on the side of the government, was the son of a Scotch 
parson who was distinguished in the revolutiouaiy war, first, for 
being himself a hot Tory, and, secondly, for being the father 
of seven sons, all of whom were ardent Whigs. MacRae was 
a lawyer of respectable ability and a sharp tongue — sharp from 
ill-nature more than wit. At the time of the trial he was 
Lieutenant-Governor of Virginia. 

On the oth^r side, the array of celebrity and talent was 
imposing in the extreme. The real leader of the defense was 
Burr himself, though the burden of the work fell upon others. 
Not a step was taken, not a point conceded, without his ex- 
press concurrence. He appeared in court attired with scru- 



I 



THE INDICTMENT. 461 

piilous neatness, in black, with powdered hair and queue. His 
manner was dignity itself — composed, polite, confident, im- 
pressive. He had the air of a man at perfect peace with him- 
self" and simply intent upon the business of the scene. It was 
observed that he never laughed at the jokes of the counsel, 
which, at some stages of the trial, were numerous and good. 
His speeches were short, concise, exact. They were uttered 
with such impressive distinctness that there are men now 
alive, who, after the lapse of fifty years, can repeat phrases 
and sentences which they heard fall from his lips during the 
trial. He was at home again. He was handling familiar 
weapons. The valley of tlie Mississippi was too much for 
him ; but in a court of justice, with the law all on his side, with 
a judge who would decide according to law, and with such 
opponents as Hay, Wirt, and MacRae, he was master of the 
situation. 

He had four assistants, each of whom were preeminent at 
the bar for some one qualification, or set of qualifications, cal- 
culated to be of service in the defense. Edmund Randolph, 
(second cousin of John Randolph) was the leader on Burr's 
side. He liad been Attorney-General and Secretary of State 
under Washingt(?n ; he had been Governor and Attorney 
General of Virginia ; he was an elderly man of great experi- 
ence, much learning, some talent, and over-awing dignity of 
manner. John Wickham, another of Burr's defenders, was 
perhaps, upon the whole, the ablest lawyer then practicing at 
the Richmond bar. He had learning, logic, wit, sarcasm, elo- 
quence, a fine presence, and a persuasive manner. In single 
endowments he was excelled, but no other man possessed such 
a variety of talents and resources as Wickham. Another 
great man on Burr's side was Luther Martin, of Maryland, 
who, in the single particular of legal learning, was the first 
lawyer of his day. His meraoiy was as wonderful as his read 
ing, so that his acquirements were at instantaneous command. 
Burr had become acquainted with him at Washington three 
years before, durhig the trial of Judge Chace, in whose de- 
fense Martin had greatly distinguished himself He entered 
into the defense of Colonel Burr with a zeal which Jefferson 



402 UPK OF AAKOX BrKK. 

thought so invieoent awd outrageouss that he could only aoconnv 
for it on the supposition that Martin \r:^s iniplioated with Barr. 
He was. indeed, a somewhat coarse man, more loud than elo- 
quent, and a mighty drinker ; resembling, in many respects, 
ProtesssorPorson, the capacioxis Oxtord receptacle of Greek and 
\ of Burr's counsel was Beniamin Botts n^tother 

. . .... \vn John Minor Bot t^ of ^1rgini3) . Mr. Bot ts 

was the youngest man on the side of the defense, bat already 
eminent. His speciality was courage, nerve ; the ** bravest 
of all possible men,*' I have heard him described by a cotem- 
porary. Ther^ was also a certain ** Jack Baker," a lame man 
v- ' - .rutch, a merry tellow with plenty of "horse-wit" and 
:v ;ious laugh, no speaker and no lawyer, but the best of 

good iellows — who appeared at a later period of the trial as 
counsel for vme of the accused. 

Tlie report of the trial, of which a brief account is now to 
be driven, tf^' '""■"" ''-'" ; ;^ .- ^ " < v --:| oc- 
tavo pag^. , . - . . -, V < the 
most interesting scenes can be given in the tew pages that are 
aqppr<»priated to the subjev^t in this volume. 

The cv>urt was opened at " >t twelve. The very first 
proc -'■-:- c- •-— --•- - ■■' •— "- - -;^"-<the 

conv . ..- - -^-: ? -, — - : had 

been sttmn^o^ed to serve on the grand jury, upon being ques- 
tioned, itted that the prv>olaniations of the Presid«it» 
and the deposition of Geaneral Eaton, had given them strong 
iTOpr>?ss" - :.unst t^ \ ^ -' - -> Senator 
Giles. V. . _ ...i move. .. . . ^ : .... . - ;....- .-.a of the 
HaK»as Corpus : another was .an old political and personal en- 
emy of Burr's : and all were prepar>ed to believe him a traitor. 
One of the juryniiatt even volunteered the statement that, npon 
- " "' 's dep - ^ he had ex- 
. .,, - ' ■'^■'^ ,: "" ■■'■^n the 
sui^t:v:, ^ and 
inipnjper for him to serv. jury, begged to be ex- 
cns^i. 

C ■ '^ rsaid: " F " " '" ;<:a">os I - ;_ .: 

thiuiv .^.u .r/?erentlv , .... ... ' ".\n h:is ';:c^a 



THE INDICTMENT. 4(58 

used through this country to prejudice my chusc, leaves mo 
very little chance indeed of an iini)artial jury. There is very 
little chance that I can expect a better man to try my cause. 
Ilis desire to be excused, and his opinion that his mind is not 
entirely free upon the case, arc good reasons why he should 
be excused ; but the candor of the gentleman, in excepting to 
himself, leaves me ground to hope that he will endeavor to be 
impartial. I pray the court to notice, Irom the scene before 
us, how many attetupts have been made to prejudge my cause. 
On this occasion I am perfc^ctly passive." 

Tliis gentleman was, accordingly, not excused. To Mr. 
Giles and a few others of the most prejudiced among tho 
panel. Colonel Burr objected, and they were withdrawn. The 
celebrated John llandolph, being added to tlie panel from 
among the si)ectators, begged to be excused for the same rea- 
son, namely, that he had an impression that the i)risoner was 
guilty of the crimes charged against him. lie was retained, 
however, and nained foreman of the jury. Late in the aftei- 
noon the requisite number of jurors was obtained, and, hatt- 
ing been duly sworn and charged, were conducted to the 
apartment jirepared for them. 

Colonel Jiurr then a(hlressed the court, and, in doing so, 
gave an intimation of the mode in which he had resolved to 
conduct the defense, and in which he did conduct it from first 
to last. He asked the court to instruct the grand jury as to 
the achnisslhillti/ of certain evidence which, he su|iposed, 
would be laid before them. Mr. Hay objected, and hoi)ed the 
court would grant no special indulgences to Colonel Burr, 
who stood on the same footing with every other man who had 
committed a crime. " Would to God," exclaimed the pris- 
oner, " that T did stand on the same footing with every other 
man ! This is the lirst time I have been permitted to enjoy 
the rights of a citizen. IIow have I been brought hither ?" 

The Chief Justice hiterposed, observing that such digressions 
were improper. The day being far spent, it was agreed that 
argununit respecting the duty of the court to instruct the 
grand jury further, should be ])Ostponed. The court then ad- 
journed to the foUowing morning ; the multitude dispersed 



464 LIFE OF AARON BURR. 

and the prisoner, accompanied by his counsel, returned to hia 
lod<>ino-s. 

JSecond Day (Saturday). — Nothing was done except recog- 
nizing some newly-arrived witnesses. N"o witnesses were sent 
in to tlio grand Jury. It now aj^pearcd that nothing cftectual 
could be done until the arrival of General Wilkinson, who had 
been sununoned, and was daily expected. It was thought by 
some that lie would not dare to confront the man he was sup- 
posed to have betrayed ; and meanwhile, the questions of the 
day at Richmond were, tias "Wilkinson arrived '? Has Wil- 
kinson been heard from? What t'(/>/ have become of Wilkin- 
son ? Wilkinson was the great Expected — the Coming 
Man. 

Third Day. — Mr. Hay was compelled again to announce 
that he had received no tidings of the general. He made an 
important motion, however, which excited one of the most 
eloquent debates of the whole trial. The prisoner, as the 
reader has been informed, was held to bail, on his first exami- 
nation, merely on the charge of misdemeanor., \\\ having in- 
cited a hostile attempt against a nation with which the United 
States were at peace. To-day, the prosecuting attorney 
moved the court that he be committed on the charge of high 
treason ! " On his examination," said the attorney, " there 
was no evidence of an overt act., and he was committed for a 
misdemeanor only. The evidence is different now." The et- 
fect of this motion, if granted, would be the immediate intro- 
duction of vied voce evidence, and the eon\mitment of the 
prisoner to jail, if the judge should deem the evidence suffi- 
cient to warrant it. It was a home-thrust, and the defense 
smnmoned all its energies to parry it. 

JNIr. Botts denounced the motion as a violation of an agree- 
ment which had been made between the opposing counsel, 
that each side should give the other notice of motions in- 
tended to be made. The counsel for the defense had not been 
notified of the present motion. "Tiie fact is this," replied 
Mr. Hay, " Mr. Wilkinson is known to be a n\aterial witness 
in this prosecution ; his arrival in Virginia might be amiouneed 
in this city bet'ore he himself reached it. I do not pri>tend to 



THE INDICTMENT. 465 

say what effect it rniglit produce upon Colonel Burr's mind ; 
but certainly Colonel Burr would bo able to effect his escape, 
merely upon paying the recognizance of his present bail. My 
only object then was to keep his person safe, until we could 
have investigated the chai'ge of treason ; and I really did not 
know but that, if Colonel Burr had been previously apprised 
of my motion, he might have attempted to avoid it. But I 
did not promise to make this communication to the opposite 
counsel, because it might have defeated the very end for . 
which it was intended." 

Ml'. Wickham, Mr. liandolph, and Mr. Botts were positive 
and vehement in o|)posing the motion, as unprecedented, un- 
lawful, unjust, and cruel. Colonel Burr, they said, was in 
court, ready to go on with the investigation. The j)ro8ecu- 
tion had had months to prej)are their case, and to assemble 
their witnesses; and still they were not ready. They desired 
to waive the prosecution, and institute, in its stead, an oppres- 
sive inquisition, against which the prisoner would iiave no 
means of defense. 

In reply to these gentlemen, Mr Wirt, for the first time, 
addressed the court, and spoke with remarkable fluency and 
animation. That he believed Colonel Burr a guilty man, is 
shown by the harshness of his manner whenever, throughout 
the trial, he had occasion lo refer directly to him. 

" Where is the crime," said Mr. Wirt, " of considering 
Aaron Burr as subject to the ordinary operation of the liuman 
passions? Toward any other man, it seems, the attoi-iuiy 
would have been justifiable in using precautions against alarms 
and escapes : it is only improper vvlien a[)plied to this man. 
Really, sir, I recollect nothing in the history of his deport- 
ment, which renders it so veiy incredible that Aaron Burr 
would lly from a prosecution. 

" Sir, if Aaron Bui-r be innocent, instead of resisting this 
motion, he ought to hail it with triumi)h and exultation. 
What is it that we propose to introduce ? Not the rumors 
that are floating through the woild, nor the hulk of tlu; multi- 
tude, nor the speculatitms of newspapers : but the evidence of 
piets. We propose that the whole evidence, exculpatory as 

20* 



406 



LIFE OF A A K O N B U K K . 



woU as aocusativo. shall oonvo botoro you ; instead of excitinsf, 
this is the true mode of oorrooting' projudicos. The world, 
vliieh it is said has been misled and intlained by falsehood, 
Avill now hear the truth. Let the truth come out, let us know 
how mueh of what we have heard is false, how niueh of it is 
true; how mueh of what we feel is prejudiee, how mueh of it 
is justitied by faet. Whoever before heard of such an appre- 
hension as that which is professed on the other side ? JPreJu- 
dice t\x\'ittd l>i/ ('ridtnce ! Evidence, sir, is the great corrector 
of prejudice. Why then does Aaron Burr shrink from it ? 
It is strange to me that a man, who complains so much of 
being, without cause, illegally seized and transported by a 
military otticer, should be afraid to confront this evidence. 
Evidence can be promotive only of truth. I repeat it then, 
sir, why does he shrink from the evidence '? The gentlemen 
on the other side can give the answer. On our part, we are 
read} to produce that evidence. 

"The gentleman assures us that no imputation is meant 
against the government. Oh, no, sir ; Colonel Burr indeed 
has been oppressed, has been persecuted ; but far be it from 
the iivntleman to charge the government with it. Colonel 
Burr indeed has been harassed by a military tyrant, who is 
'the instrument of a government bound to a blind obedience;' 
but the gentleman could not by any means be understood as 
intending to insinuate aught to the prejudice of the govern- 
ment. Tlie gentleman is undei-stood, sir ; his object is cor- 
rectly understood. He would divert the public attei\tion 
from Aaron Burr, and point it to another quarter. He would, 
too, if he.could, shitl the popular displeasure which he has 
spoken oK from Aaron Burr to another quarter. These re- 
marks were not intended for your ear, sir ; they were intended 
for the people who surround us ; they can have no etiect upon 
the mind of the court. I am too well acquainted with the 
dignity, the tirmness, the illumination of this bench, to appre- 
hend any such consequence. But the gentlemen would bal- 
ance the account of popular prejudices ; they would convert 
this judicial into a political question ; they would make it a 
question between Thomas Jeti'ei-sou and Aaron Burr. Tlie 



THE INDICTMENT. 46*7 

purpose is well understoofl, sir ; but it shall not be served, I 
will not degrade the administration of this country by enter- 
ing on their defense. Besides, sir, this is not our business ; at 
present we have an account to settle, not between Aaron Burr 
and Thomas Jefferson, but between Aaron Burr and the laws 
of his country. Let us finish his trial first. The administra- 
tion, too, will be tried before their country ; before the world. 
They, sir, I believe, will never shrink, either from the evidence 
or the verdict. 

" Why is not General Wilkinson here ? The ceriainty that 
Aaron Burr would be put upon his trial, could not have been 
known at Washington till the 5th or 6th of April. Now, sir, 
let the gentlemen on the other side make a slight calculation. 
Orleans is said to be fifteen hundred or sixteen hundred miles 
from this place. Suppose the United States mail, traveling 
by a frequent change of horses and riders, a hundred miles 
per day, should reach Orleans in seventeen days from the fed- 
eral city, it would be the 24th or 25th of April (putting all 
accidents out of the question) before General Wilkinson could 
have received his orders to come on. Since that time until 
this, he has had thiity days to reach liichmond Could a 
journey of fifteen hundred or sixteen hundred miles be reas- 
onably performed in thirty days? Who can bear a journey 
of fifty miles per day for thirty days together." 

Mr. Hay followed in an elaborate speech. To him, as to 
Ml-. Wirt, the counsel for the defense, I'cplied, and Colonel 
Burr concluded the debate in a ten minutes' speech. He de- 
clared himselfj not only willing, but anxious to proceed — but 
not to proceed in the way proposed. On a motion for com- 
mitment, ex parte evidence alone would be introduced, and he 
Avould not submit to go on at such disadvantage, when the re- 
sult involved such consequences to himself, " My counsel," 
said he, " have been charged with declamation against the gov- 
ernment of the United States. I certainly, su-, sliall not be 
charged with declamation ; but surely it is an established prin- 
ciple, that no government is so high as to be beyond the 
reach of criticism; and it is particulaily laid down, that this 
vigilance is more peculiarly necessary, when any government 



-ft^^ lAim OF AAROX BIKR. 

institutes a pr»>S5<?evition ; and one jeason is» on aeconnt of tho 
vast disproportion of means which exists between it and the 
aivftsed. Bnt, if ever ther«» was a ease which jnstified this 
vigilanoe, it is c ' the present one, when the irv^venuuent 

has displayevi siu. wimmon activity. If, then, this gv>Yern- 

saent has been so p<vuliarly active against me, it is not im- 
prv^per to make the assertion here, for the purpose of it^creas- 
MJg the oircttmsj>e<.'tioa of the court.'* 

He ol>served, that he meant by persev'utiou, the harassinir 
of arv •• -^ • ■ -i!, cv>ntrary to the forms of law; and that his 
ease, c ly, presented too many instances of this de- 

scription. His friends had be^n everywhere seized by the mil- 
itary authority ; a practice truly cvmsonant with Enrv>p<»an 
desjx>tism. Persons had been dr^ggevi by compulsory process 
bv ■ articular tribunctls, and ^ "ixi to give testimony 

a^: _ >. :n. His pv^pers, too. ha. .... seized. And yet, in 
England, where we say they know nothing of liberty, a gen- 
tleman who had been seissed and detained two hours in a back 
parlor, had obtained damages to the amount of one thousand 
guineas. He said that an order had been issued to kill 1 ■ •-. 
as he was descending the Mississippi, and seize his prop<'r:\ . 
And yet, they cv>nld only have kUled his person if he iuid 
been tbrmally condemned for treason. Even post-olfices had 
been broken open, and rt>bbed of his papers, in the Missis- 
sippi Territory; even an- in^ t was about to be laid 
against the postmaster. He ba^ .. > .ys taken this tx>r a telony ; 
but nothing seemevl too extravagtmt to be forgiven by the 
amiable morality of this government. ^'^ All this," said Cokw 
nel Burr, ^'' may only prove that my case is a solitary excep- 
tion from the general rule ; that government may be tender 
mild, and hir > • ' ^ :very one but me. If so, to be sure it 
is of little cv - CO anv bodv but mvself. But surelv I 
may be excuse<l if I complain a little of such proceeviings.^ 
There seemed to be something mingled in those proeee^lings 
which mauifested a more than usual inclination to attain the 
ends of justice. 

^* Our President is a lawyer, and a great one too. He cer- 
tainlv onsfht to know what it is that constitutes a war. Six 



T II \<; \ N I) t CT M K HV. 1Cf» 

iTioiilliH m^o lio pio(l;iirii(!fl lliat tlu.TO wnn a civil unr. Aiwl 
yc!l, (or Hi.v inotitliH liavo tfioy hoon InnilJnj^ for it, uikJ Ktill 
<:aii not, riiid orio h|»o( \vli(!r(! il, cxihUmI, 'I'licrc waw, to ]>(> Hiirct, 
a most tcrril»l(! war in tlnj iiow'Hpapers ; l»iit no wIkii-c (•Ihc. 
VVIiOD I a|)|)f!ar<!'l bcCoro tlit; f^VMid jury, in K(!ntncl<y, tlu'y 
had no charge to bring againHt rae, and I wan couHcquontly 
dismiHHOfl. Wiuiri I appeared for a second lime, belbre a 
ffy.iwd juiy in tlie MisHissippi Tcri'itory, llirjc, was noibinj^ to 
ap))c;ir a;j;ain.st me; ami the judgt; even told the United States 
Attorney, thai if he did not send ii}) his jjill Ijeforo the f^r;i,nd 
jury, he himscjl' wouhl proceed lo minic as many of (lie v\'it- 
nesHos as lie could, ami brin^ it before the court. tStill there 
was no (ji-ooCof war. At leii|L(lh, }ir)wever, tlie Spaniards in- 
vaded our territory, and yet, th(!re was no war. I>ut, sir, if 
there was a w.'ii', c(!rtainly no man can pretend to say that the 
government is able to (ind it f)iit. The scene to which they 
have now Inmted il, in only thi-e(! hundred miles distant, and 
still th(;r(! is no (ividence to prov(! this wiir." 

lie concliid(;d by reminding the judge;, that if he should 
then be eommittrsd to prison, lie would be obliged by law to 
remain there imtil th(! next term of the court, which would 
involve a delay 'of six; months. Tho argument then rested, 
and the (;ourt adjoin-iied for the day, 

Fourili l>ay. — 'I'he (/hitif Justice (iecided, with avowed re- 
luctance, that " if it was tin; choicoof the pros<;cuting attor- 
ney to proc(;ed with the motion" he might open his testimony ; 
but " the court perceives and regrets that the result of this 
motion may be |)ubli''ations unliivorable to the justice and to 
the I'ight decision oi" the case." Mr. Ibiy th(!n sairl that he was 
Htru{;k"witli the observation of the couit res[jecting " |)ublica- 
tions," and he was willing to enter into negotiations with the 
coimselor for the defense with a view to avoid that "inc<Hive- 
nieiice ;" that is to say, if they would consent to an amount 
of Itail suflicicntly large- to insure the [)rison(!r's appr-ararice, 
li(! would forbear to avail hiniKelfof tlu; decision just i-(;ndered. 
Colonel liurr's coimsel demanding time for reflection, the 
court iidjoui'tied. 

/'V/*/A 1^'iy- — Mr. Hay said ho had received a letter from 



•1 7l) L I F K O F \ A K O N I? U R K , 



the oounsol tor tlio dotonso, positivoly rofiisino-to give aililitional 
bail. Mo doemod it bis duty, thorotoro, to go on with iho ex- 
ainination of witnesses, tor the purpose ot" securing the eom- 
n\itnient of Ook>nel Burr on tlie eharge of treason. 

Now arose, as might liave been t'oreseen, tlie vital ipiestion, 
ichat ('ci(fe>Hr icas ifjmissiblc.^ 

A tieUl-day of argument ensued, in the course of wliieli Mr. 
Botts, in a manner plain to the comprehension of non-legal au- 
ditors, stated (he law of the U»\ited States respecting the crime 
of hioh treason. First, he said, it must be proved that there 
was an actual war; a war consisting oi'acfs, not of intentions. 
" In Knglanil," said Mw Botts, " where conspiring the death 
oi' ihe king was treason, the (Jko animo formed the essence of 
theotVcnse; but in America the national convention luus con- 
lined treason to the act. We can not have a constructive war 
within the meaning of the Constitution. An intention to levy 
war, is not evidence that a war was levied. Intentions aro 
always n\utable and variable; tlie continuance of guilty inten- 
tions is i\ot to be presumed." Secondly, the war must not 
only have been levieil, but the prisoner must be proved to 
have conunitted an overt (open, not covert) act of treason in 
that war. " A treasonable intention to cooperate is no evi- 
dence o( an actual cooperation. The act of otiiers, even if 
in ptirsuance of his plan, would be no evidence against him. 
It n\ight not be necessary that he should be present, perhaps; 
he must be, at the time of levying the war, cooperating by 
acts, or, in the language of the Constitution, be conunitting 
overt acts.'' Thirdlv, the overt act bv the nceusecl, in an ao- 
tual war, n\ust be proved to have been committed within the 
district in which the trial takes place. Fourthly, the overt 
act must be proved by two witnesses. 

The court sustained this view of the crime of treason, and 
refused to hear evidence of treasonable intention, until it wa;< 
first proved that an overt act of treason had been conunitted. 
Just as in a case of murder, the fact of the A'iNi/uy must be 
shown before other evidence has any relevancy. That the 
counsel for the prosecution were mortitied and perplexed by 
this decision, they took no pains to conceal. They appeared to 



T II E I N I) I C T M K N T . 471 

have drawn up their list of witnesses in the liistorical order ; 
intending, first, to show tlie state of tlie prisoner's mind wlicn 
tlie alk'ged treason was conceived, and then to narrate its pro- 
gressive deveh)prnent in the order in wliich tlie events were 
supposed to have occurred. Tlie decision, besides excluding 
ail I heir choicest morsels of evidence, disarranged this com- 
modious scheme. 

■ Two of Blcnnerhassett's servants were examined respecting 
the events that took place on the island ; an allidavit from 
New Orleans was oifered as evidence, but rejected ; and then, 
without having made the slightest progress, the court ad- 
journed. 

Hixth Day. — Lutlier Martin appeared, and took his place 
among Colonel Burr's counsel. The prosecuting attorney be- 
ing convinced, to-day, of the i'utility of his efforts to commit 
the prisoner at the present stage of the case, and the Chief 
Justice having expressed a strong desire th:it"the personal 
ajDjiearance of Colonel Burr could be secured without the 
necessity of proceeding with this inquiry," Colonel Burr 
agreed to give bail, " provided it sliould be understood that 
no opinion, on the question even of probable cause, was pro- 
nounced by the court by the circumstance of his giving bail." 
Tiiis was agreed to, and the bail was doubled. One of the 
new sureties was Luther Martin, who declared in open court 
that he was happy to have this oppoitunity to give a public 
proof of his confidence in the honor of Colonel Burr, and of 
his conviction that he was iiniocent. 

Days passed, and still there were no tidings of the portly 
Wilkinson. Here were nine of the ablest lawyers of the 
country, however, and the eyes of an excited nation were 
fixed upon them. Need it be said that there were motion 
enough, and talk interminable ! There was talk desultory 
talk animated, talk violent, talk to the purpose, and talk di- 
gressive. Martin roared against tlie administration, like the 
"Fedei'al bull-dog" that lie was; and Wirt retorted in pol- 
ished and glowing declamation. Wickham, Botts, and Ran- 
dolph went, by turns, into the arena, and won the applause 
of the bar and the crowd. One of the longest ai-guments was 



4 . 'J LIFE OF A .V K O >« B U K K . 

ujx^n a motion made by Bnri\ that the court issue a subfuTna 
ducrs tecinn to the Prosideut, reqniriug him to furnish cer- 
tain papei-s to the eomisel tor the defense, namely, Wilkinson's 
letter to the President, dated October 21st, and the ordei-s 
issued by the government to the army and navy during the 
late excitement. These papers (copies, of coui-se) had been 
applied for by Colonel Burr himself during a recent visit to 
Washiiiiiton. They were refused. His counsel had since ap- 
plied, but they had not been obtained. 

The letter applied for was the one in which Wilkinson said 
he did not know who the prime mover of the conspiracy was, 
and the orders to the army and navy were such as, in the 
counsels' opiuion, would have Ju^tijitd itsistaace on the part 
of Colonel Burr and his companions. 

*' We intended to show," said Luther Martin, " in one of 
bis vehement harangues, "' that these orders were contrary 
to the Constitution and the laws, and that they entitled Colonel 
Burr to the right of resistance. We intended to show that 
by this particular order his property and his person were to 
be dcsi roved ; ves, bv these tvnnmioal orders the life and 
propertv of an innocent man were to be exposed to destmic- 
tion. We did not expect the originals themselves. But we 
did apply for copies; and were refused under presidential in- 
fluence. In Xew York, on the " ' trials of Ogdeu .and 
Smith, the officers of the govevi>...v.-, sereeijed themselves 
from attending, under the sanction of the President's name. 
Perhaps the s;ime farce may be repeated here ; and it is for 
this jvason that we apply directly to the President of the 
United States, Whether it would have been best to have ap- 
plied to the Seci-etaries of State, of the ^S^avy and W,ar, I can 
not say. Ail that we want is, the copies of some papers, and 
the original of another. This is a peculiar case, sir. The 
President has imderatken to prejudge my client by declaring, 
that ^ of his guilt there can be no doubt.' He h.as assumed 
to ■ 'f the knowledge of the Suv- - - t;. • - - ' ■•• <e!.\ .and 
pi\..:...d to search the heart of my ^ ^ friend. 
He has proclaimed him a traitor in the ikce of that country 
which has rewarded him. He has let slip the dogs of war, the 



tiik: indictment. 473 

hell-hounds of persecution, to hunt down my friend. And 
would this President of the United States, who has raised all 
this absurd clamor, pretend to keep back the papers which are 
wanted for this trial, where life itself is at stake ? It is a 
sacred principle, that in all such cases, the accused has a right 
to all the evidence which is necessary for his defense. And 
whoever withholds, willfully, information that would save the 
life of a person charg-ed with a capital offense, is substantially 
a murderer, and so recorded in the register of heaven." 

To which Mr. Wirt replied : " I beg to know what gentle- 
men can intend, expect, or hope, from these perpetual philip- 
pics against the government ? Do they Hatter themselves 
that this court feels political prejudices which will supply the 
place of argument and innocence on the pai't of the prisoner ? 
Their conduct amounts to an insinuation of the soi't. But I 
do not believe it. On the contrary, I feel the firm and pleas- 
ing assurance, that as to the court, the beam of their judg- 
ment will remain steady, although the earth itself should sliake 
under the concussion of prejudice. Or is it on the by-standers 
that the gentlemen expect to make a favorable impression? 
And do they use the court merely as a canal, through which 
they may pour upon the world their undeserved invectives 
against the government? Do they wish to divide the popular 
resentment and diminish thereby their own quota ? Before 
the gentlemen ar*-aign the administration, let them clear the 
skirts of tlieir client. Let them prove his innocence ; let them 
prove that he has not covered himself with the clouds of mys- 
tery and just suspicion ; let them prove that he has been all 
along erect and fair, in open day, and that these charges against 
him are totally groundless and false. That will be the most 
eloquent invective which they can pronounce against the pros- 
ecution ; but until they prove this innocence, it shall be in vain 
that they attempt to divert our minds to other objects, and 
other inquiiies. We will keep our eyes on Aaron Burr until 
he satisfies our utmost scruple. I beg to know, sir, if the 
course which gentlemen pursue is not disrespectful to the 
court itself? Suppose there are any foreigners here accus- 
tomed to regular government in their own country, what can 



474 LIFE OF AARON «URR. 

tlu'y iiiCor iVoin hoariu^- the fodcM'al ndiiiinistration thus re. 
viK'd \o tho federal judieiavv ? Hearing tho jvuVieiary told 
thai tlie administration are "■ /^/oot/ //o?»?c?.s, hunting this man 
with a keen and savage tliirst for blood ; that they now sup- 
[>i>se they liave hunted liim into their toils, and have him safe,' 
Sir, )U) man, foreigner or eitizen, who hears this language ad- 
dressed to the eourt, and reeeived Avith all the eomplaoeney at 
least whieh silenee ean imply, can make any iuferenees from it 
very honorable to the court. It would only be inferred, while 
they are thus suilered to roll and luxuriate in these gross in- 
vectives against the administration, that thev are furnishing 
the joys of a Mohammedan paradise to the court as well as to 
tiieir client, 1 hope that the court, for their own sakes, will 
compel ;i decent respect to that goveriunent ot' which they 
themselves form a branch. On our part, we wish only a fair 
trial of this case. If the man be innocent, in the name of 
(.^od let him go; but while we are on the question of his guilt 
or innocence, let us not sutler our attentii>n and iudgment to 
be diverted and distracted by the introduction of other sub- 
jects foreign to the inouirv.'' 

After sinne days of debate, the Chief Justice gave a very 
elaborate opinion on the point, and decided that the iiub/.KVHa 
duces ti'oum might issue. 

If the object of this motion was to annoy the President, it 
certainly accomplished its pm-pose completely. Mr. Jelierson 
was disgusted with the motion, disgusted with the debate, and 
disgusted with the decision. *■• Shall we move," he wrote to 
Mr. Hay, '^ to commit Luther Martin as partieeps critninis 
with Burr? Grayball will tix upon him misprision of treason 
at least, and, at any rate, his cxidence will put down this un- 
principled and impudent Federal bull-dog, and add another 
proof that the most clamorous defenders of Burr are all his 
accomplices. It will explain why Luther Martin tlew so 
hastilv to the ' aid of his honorable friend,' abandoning his 
clients and their property during a session of a principal com-t 
of Maryland, now tilled, as T am told, with the clamors and 
ruin of his clients." 

TJie Chief Justice's opinion was not less otieusive to the 



THE INDICTMENT. 475 

President than Martin's pliilippics. He descanted, at length, 
upon a [)as,sagc whicli intimated that even the bodily presence 
of the President might be compelled by the court. He 
om])hatically denied this. "The Constitution," wi'ote the 
President, " enjoins tlie President's constant agency in the con- 
cerns of six millions of people. Is the law })arainoimt to this 
•which calls on him on behalf of a single one ? Let us apply 
the judge's own doctrine to the case of himself and his breth- 
ren. The shei-iff of Henrico (Judge Marshall's residence) sum- 
mons him from the bench to quell a riot somewhere in his 
county. The federal judge is, by the general law, a part of 
the posse of the State sheriff. Would the judge abandon 
major duties to perform lesser ones ? * * * The leading 
principle of our Constitution is the independence of the legis- 
lature, executive, and judiciary of each other, and none are 
more jealous of this than the judiciary. But would the exec- 
utive be independent of the judiciary, if he were subject to 
the commands of the latter, and to imprisonment for diso- 
bedience, if the several courts could bandy him from i)illar to 
post, keep him constantly trudging from noi'th to south, and 
east to west, and withdraw him entirely from his constitutional 
duties ? * ■'■ * The judge says, ' it is apparent that the 
President's duties as chief magistrate do not demand his whole 
time, and are not uni-emitting.' If he alludes to our annual 
retirement from the seat of goverment, during the sickly 
season, he sliould be told that such arrangements are made 
for carrying on the public business that it goes on as unremit- 
tingly there as if we were at the seat of government. I pass 
moi-e hours in public business at Monticello than I do here 
every day and it is much more laborious, because all must be 
done in writing." 

These passages show the more than official interest that Mr. 
Jefferson took in the events that were transpiring at Rich- 
mond. They show who was the real prosecutor of the prison- 
er, and who inspired the eloquence and zeal of those who were 
delegated to conduct the cause. 

At length on the 15th of June, twenty-four days after the 
opening of the court, General Wilkinson, who had arrived on 



476 LIFE OF AAKON BUKK. 

the 13th, exhausted with the fatisrue of his journev, appeared 
in court. His bearing, it was said at the time, was sereue and 
eomiuanding, Avhile the countenance of the prisoner woi'e an 
expression of ineffable contempt. Business now proceeded 
with more celerity. Witnesses wei'e sworn and sent to the 
grand jury in scores. " Prodigious eftbrts were made by Col- 
onel Burr and his counsel to exclude and vitiate the testi- 
mony of General Wilkinson. But, on the 24th of June, while 
Mr. Botts was in the very act of urging the attachment of 
Wilkinson for procuring evidence by means violent, unlawful, 
and corrupting, the coming of the grand jury was announced, 
bearing the result of their investigations. With their distin- 
guished foreman at the head of the procession, they marched 
into the court-room and took their places, amid the hushed and 
intense expectation of a crowded auditory. The grand jury, 
Mr. Randolph said, had agreed upon several indictments, 
which he handed to the clerk of the court. The clerk took 
them, and i-ead aloud the endorsements upon them, which 
were as follows : 

'^ An indictment against Aaron Burr for treason ;" " an in- 
dictment against Aaron Burr for a misdemeanor ;-^ "• an indict- 
ment against Hei'man Bleunerhassett for treason ;"' '• an indict- 
ment against Herman Blennerhassett for misdemeanor." 

The eyes of the auditors sought involuntarily the counte- 
nance of the prisoner. It was. utterly unmoved ; his manner 
differed in no degree whatever from that which he had exhib- 
ited at every stage of the trial. A Richmond newspaper of 
the following day, however, announced to a country hungry 
for exciting intelligence, that when the clerk read the first en- 
dorsement, the prisoner was thrown into a state of indescrib- 
able consternation and dismay. 

The cjrand iurv retired. Mr. Botts concluded his speech. 
An attempt was made to show that the prisoner might still be 
held on bail ; but after debate, the Chief Justice decided that 
he was '■'' nnder the necessity of committing Colonel Burr.*^ 
Late in the afternoon, through a concourse of hundreds of spec- 
ators who looked on in silence. Colonel Burr was conducted 
bv the marshal of the district to the citv iail of Richmond. 



THE INDICTMENT. 477 

His first thought on being conducted to liis apartment in the 
prisoxi was to allay the ajjjjrehensions wliicli, he well knew, 
the news of his imprisonment would excite in the mind of his 
daughter. He wrote her a letter, showing the ahsuidity and 
groundlessness of the indictments for treason. He said, they 
were founded on the allegations, that " Colonel Tyler, witli 
twenty or thirty men, stopped at Bleimerhnssett's Island on 
their way down the Ohio; that though these men were not 
urmed, and had no military array or organization, aiul though 
they did neither use force lun- threaten it, yet having set out 
with a view of taking temporary possession of New Orleans on 
theii- way to Mexico, tliat such intent was treasonable, and 
therefore a war was levied on Blennerhassett's Island by con- 
struction ; and that, though Colonel Burr was then at Frank- 
fort on his way to Tennessee, yet, liaving advised tlie measure, 
he was, by constructu»i of lau\ present at the island, and levied 
war there." He declared, that of the fifty witnesses who had 
been examined by the grand jury, thirty had perjured them- 
selves. " I beg and expect it of you," ho said in conclusion, 
"that you will conduct yourelf as becomes my daughter, and 
that you manifest no signs of weakness or alarm," 

On the following day, the grand jury indicted ex-senators 
Dayton and Smith, Comfort Tyler, Israel Smith, and Davis 
Floyd tor the same offenses. Hour after hour, the lawyers 
talked their best, and occasionally, their loudest, upon the 
motion to attach General Wilkinson for contempt. In vain. 

The next day, on the opening of the court, the counsel of 
the prisoner presented a paper to the judges, stating tliat the 
city jail, where their client was confined, was unhealthy and 
inconvenient, and was so constructed that he could not have a 
room to hiuiself, which rendered it almost impossible for his 
counsel to consult with him. They therefore prayed that bet- 
ter quarters might be provided. The Governor of the State, 
under the advice of his counsel, having ofliered apartments in 
the penitentiai-y near Richmond, the Chief Justice ordered the 
prisoner's removal thither. This proceeding seems to have 
filled up the measure of Jelforson's disgust. " Before an im- 
partial jury," he wrote to Mr. Hay, " Burr's conduct would 



478 LIJFE OF AARON BURR. 

convict himself, were not one word of testimony to be offered 
against him. But to what a state will our law be reduced by 
party feelings in those who administer it ? Why do not Blen- 
nerhassett, Dayton, and the rest, demand private and com- 
fortable lodgings ? In a country where an equal application 
of law to every condition of man is fundamental, how could it 
be denied to them ? How can it ever be denied to the most 
degraded malefactor ?" 

On the 13th of June, the court, having been occupied for 
nearly two months in getting the prisoners simply indicted, 
rested from its labors, and adjourned to meet again on the 3d 
of August. The proceedings thus far were immediately pub- 
lished in a thick, three-shilling pamphlet, which seems, if we 
may judge from the newspapers of that day, to have confirmed 
the country in its impressions of the prisoner's guilt. 

For example — at a Fourth-of-July celebration in Cecil 
county, Maryland, the following were among the toasts : 

"Tiie grand jurors lately impaneled at Richmond to in- 
dict the traitors of their country. May their zeal and patriot- 
ism in the cause of liberty secure them a crowrl of immortal 
glory, and the fruits of their labor be a death-wound to all 
lonspirators. 

" Lutlier Martin, the ex-attorney-general of Maryland, the 
mutual and highly respected friend of a convicted traitor. 
May his exertions to preserve the Catiline of America procure 
him an honorable coat of tar, and a plumage of feathers that 
will rival in finery all the mummeries of Egypt. 

"Aaron Burr, the man who once received the confidence of 
a free people. May his treachery to his country exalt him to 
the scaftbld, and hemp be his escort to the republic of dust 
and ashes." 

To these elegant efl:usions of patriotic hilarity, Luther 
Martin replied with a spirit and audacity never employed by 
public men of the present day in addressing the sovereign 
People. " Who is this gentleman," said he, " whose guilt you 
have pronounced, and for whose blood your parched throats 
so thirst? Was he not, a few years past, adored by you next 
to vour God? I mean your earthly god; for whether you 



THE INDICTMENT. 419 

believe in a deity who has any government over your ' repub- 
lic of dust and ashes,' I know not. Were you not, then, his 
warmest admirers ? Did he not then possess every virtue ? 
Had he then one sin — even a single weakness of human na- 
ture ? lie was then in power. He had then influence. You 
would then have been proud of his notice. One smile from 
him would have brightened up all your faces. One frown 
from him would have lengthened all your visages ! 

"Go, ye holiday, »ye sunshine friends — ye time-servers --— 
ye criers of hosannah to-day and crucifiers to-morrow — go, 
hide your heads, if possible, from the contempt and detesta- 
tion of every virtuous, every honorable inhabitant of every 
clime !" 

In Richmond itself, however. Colonel Burr had found friends 
enough. From the day of his arrival, he had been growing in 
the esteem and good-will of those who attended the court and 
gaw his i;niform urbanity and good humor. His situation in 
the penitentiary was extremely agreeable. He had a suite of 
three rooms in the third story, extending one hundred feet, 
where he was allowed to see his friends without the presence 
of a witness. His rooms were so thronged with visitors, at 
times, as to present the appearance of a levee. Servants were 
continually arriving " with messages, notes, and inquiries, 
bringing oranges, lemons, pineapples, raspberries, apricots, 
cream, butter, ice," and other articles — presents from the 
ladies of the city. In expectation of his daughter's arrival, 
some of his friends in the town provided a house for her ac- 
commodation. The jailor, too, was all civility. Colonel Burr 
often laughed at the recollection of a conversation that took 
place between himself and the jailor on the evening of his 
arrival. 

" I hope, sir," said the jailor, " that it would not be dis- 
agreeable to you if I should lock this door after dark?" 

" By no means," replied the prisoner ; " I should prefer it, 
to keep out intruders." 

" It is our custom, sir," continued the jailor, " to extinguish 
all lights at nine o'clock. I hope, sir, you will have no objec- 
tion to conform to that." 



480 LIFE OF AARON BURR. 

"That, sir," siiid Burr, '"I am sorry to say, is impossible, 
for I never go to bod till twelve, and always burn two 
candles." 

" Very Avell, sir, just as you please," replied the jailor. " I 
should have been glad if it had been otherwise ; but, as you 
please, sir." 

Toward the close ofJuly, he received notice of Theodosia's 
approach, '"Kemember," he wrote to her, "• no agitations, no 
complaints, no fears or anxieties on the road, or I renounce 
thee." And again : " I want an ir.dopondent and discerning 
witness to ni} conduct and to that ol" the government. The 
Rcenes which have passed and those about to be transacted 
will exceed all reasonable credibility, and will hereafter be 
deem^ed fables, unless attested by very high authority. I re- 
peat, what has heretofore been written, that I should never 
invite any one, mucli less those so dear to me, to witness my 
disgrace. I may be immured in dungeons, chained, murdered 
in legal form, but I can not be humiliated or disgraced. If 
absent, you will sutler great solicitude. In my presence you 
will feel none, whatever may be the inalice or the poicer of ■! 

mv enemies, and in both thev abound." And aoain : "I am I 

informed that some good-natured people here have provided " 

you a house, and furnished it, a few steps from my toicfi-honse. 
I had also made a temporary provision for you in my town- 
house (city jail), whither I shall remove on Sunday ; but I 
Avill not, if I can possibly avoid it, move before your arrival, 
liaving a great desire to nwive i/ot( aU i/i t/u's mansion (the 
penitentiary). Pray, therefore, drive directly out here. You 
may get admission at any time from four in the morning till 
ten at niuht. Write me bv the mail from Petersburg, that I 
may know of your approach." 

Upon the letter last quoted was written in Theodosia's own 
hand: ^^JReceived on our approach to liic/onond. ^ow /lappi/ 
it made me .'" She arrived the same day, and was thence- 
forth, until the end of the trial for treason, his companion and 
housekeeper. Her husband, faithful always to her and to her 
father, was witli her, and sat by the side of her tather when 
he was arraiirned for treason. 



TIIJS INDICTMKNT. 481 

The recollections of the late John Barney, formerly member 
of Congress from Maryland, confirm the view here given of 
Colonel Burr's i)Osition at Richmond during his trial. Mr. 
Barney was employed by Colonel Burr as his amanuensis, and 
lived in habits of intimacy with him for several weeks. With 
an extract fioui Mr. Barney's narrative, 1 conclude the pres- 
ent chapter : 

"In 180e3, 1 witnessed the dignity, impartiality, and winning 
grace witli which Aaron Burr presided in the Senate of the 
United States during the trial of Judge Chace, impeached for 
partiality and injustice toward John Fries, indicted under the 
alien and sedition law. 

" I attended his trial at Richmond, when he himself was 
indicted for treason. His 2)roniinent counselor was Luther 
Martin, of Baltimore, my father's lawyer, neighbor, and 
friend. 

" His daughter Maria, afterward celebrated as Mrs. Rich- 
ard Raynal Kcene, invited my sister and'self to dine with Col- 
onel Burr. He was then living in a house standing alone, 
around which was a patrol of guards. 

"The dinner was superb, abounding in all the luxuries 
which Virginia's generous soil yields in lavish abundance. 
Twenty ladies and gentlemen of rank, fortune, and fashion, 
graced the festive board. 

" He was esteemed a persecuted martyr. Distress, in every 
form and shape, makes an irresistible a]>[)eal to woman's sym- 
pathy ; her tears often flow for the suffeiing of the criminal 
who expiates his crimes on the gibbet. 

" On this occasion. Burr's fascinating flatteries were lav- 
ished indiscriminately on the sex in general. Man he had 
ever found treacherous — woman always true to sustain him 
in adversity, solacing in ailliction, and giving a charm to life, 
without which life itself was not worth possessing. , 

"The grand jury finding a true bill, he was forthwith re- 
moved to the State prison. There we follovv'ed him ; he re- 
ceived us in his usual bland, courteous manner ; apologized 
for our being introduced into his bed-chamber — his drawing- 
room being then deranged by the fitting up of his ice-house, 

21 



482 LIFE OF AARON BURR. 

which was in fact in liis cliimney-corncr. Iron tj^ratings pre- 
vented his egress, admitting free circnlation of light and air, 
I felt jn-ide and took pleasnre in being permitted to beconix 
liis amanuensis. Each day as I rode along the streets my 
curricle was freighted with cake, confectionery, flowers, redo- 
lent with perfume, wreathed into tancy bouquets of endless 
variety. 

" The trial was tedious and prolonged. I traveled on to 
the borders of North Carolina, lingered for awhile at the no- 
ble mansion of Lady Shipwith. On my return, I found the 
persevering Attorney-General, George Hay, tatigued, worried. 

" ' Would that I could only hang upon a gate, and have a 
little negro to swing me to and fro all day. The law's delay 
— the special pleadings of the bar, its interminable controver- 
sies have worn out and exhausted me. I shan't be able to 
hang Burr, but will be content to hang myself on a gate.' 
Thus spoke George llay, than whom never lived a purer pa- 
triot, or a more upright, conscientious man." 



CHAPTER XXYI. 

THE TRIAL. 

POTTRTEEN DaYS SpENT IN GETTING A JUHY — GENERAL EaTON'S TESTIMONY — CoM- 
MODOKE TkUXTON'8 TESTIMONY — PeTER TaYLOr'S TESTIMONY — JACOB AlL- 

bright's Testimony — The Nine Days' Debate on the Admissibility of Indi- 
rect Evidence — Wirt's Celebrated Speech — Blennerhassett's Diart — 
Decision of the Chief Justice — The Verdict — Letter of Tueodosia's — 
The Trial for Misdemeanor — Burr in Baltimore. 

The court met on the 3d of August. Present, the Same 
judges as before. Present, the same counsel. Present, an 
equal throng of auditors flushed '^vith expectation. Present, 
more than one hundred and forty witnesses, and a panel of 
forty-eight jurors. Blennerhassett had arrived, and was in 
jH'ison. Burr had been brought from his " country liouse" to 
a building in the city near the court-room, where he was 
guarded vigilantly, night and day. He entered the court- 
room accompanied by his son-in-law, Governor Alston, of 
South Carolina, and exhibited all his wonted serenity of man- 
ner. 

Fourteen days elapsed before the jury were sworn. Some 
of these days were wasted in waiting for the arrival of wit- 
nesses, but most of them were consumed in attempting to find 
among the mass of jurors twelve who had not formed and ex- 
pressed an opinion of the prisoner's guilt. One man confessed to 
having said that any one who did what Colonel Burr had done 
ought to be hung. Another had expressed the opinion that 
Colonel Burr had done something wrong, and seduced Blen- 
nerhassett into it; but that he (Burr) was so " sensible" a man, 
that if there was any hole left he would creep out of it. An- 
other had long thought that the prisoner was a very bad man. 
Another believed him guilty of treasonable intention, but had 
doubts whether an overt act had been committed, because he 



484 LIFE OF AARON BURR. 

believed Colonel Burr to be a man of such " deep intrigue as 
never to jeopardize his own life until thousands fell before him." 
Another said that his bad opinion of Colonel Burr had been 
confirmed by what he had hoard from his own lips in court. 
With one of the panel, the prisoner had the following conver- 
sation in open court : 

" Have the rumors (mentioned by the juror) excited a prej- 
udice in your mhid against me '?" asked Colonel Burr. 

"I have no prejudice for or against you," was the reply. 

Mr. Botts asked, " Are you a freeholder ?" 

" Yes," vsaid the juror ; "I have two patents for land." 

" Are you worth three hundred dollars ?" inquired one of 
the counsel. 

" Yes ; I have a house here worth the half of it." 

" Have you another at home," inquired one of the counsel, 
jocosely, " to make up the other half?" 

A general titter followed this question, which nettled the 
gentloniau. " Yes," said he, " four of them." Then, turning 
to the spectators, he continued, " I am surprised that they 
should be in so much teri-or of me. Perhaps my 7ia/ne may 
be a terror, for my first name is ILvmiltox !" 

" That remark," said Colonel Burr, with memorable dig- 
nity, " is a sufficient cause for objecting to him. I challenge 
him peremptorily." And this was his only peremptory chal- 
lenge. 

In short, out of the whole venire of forty-eight, but tour 
men were tbund whose opinions were sufficiently imdecided 
to admit of their acceptance as jurors; and of those four, all 
but one admitted that they had been prejudiced ag:iinst the 
prisoner. A second venire of forty-eight were summoned; 
all of whom, it was soon discovered, had formed unfavorable 
opinions. An attempt was made by the counsel for the de- 
fense to quash the trial, for the simple reason that an impar- 
tial jury could not be obtained, and the law requires that every 
prisoner shall be tried by an impartial jury. At length, the 
prisoner was allowed to select eiglu jurors from the last venire 
to add to the four obtained from the first. Some even of these 
confessed to being decidedly prejudiced, confessed to having 



THE TRIAL. 485 

warmly denounced the prisoner on many occasions. They 
were accepted, however, and sworn, on the 17th of the 
month. 

Proclamation was then made in the usual form. The pris- 
oner stood up, while the indictment was read, Mr, Hay then 
rose and opened the case with a speech of great length, in 
which he discoursed upon the nature of treason ; and, briefly, 
upon the treason committed by the prisoner at the bar. It 
would be proved, he said, that the prisoner meaw^ totaheNcio 
Orleans^ and that the proceedings at Blennerhassett Island 
were the beginning of the execution of that scheme. Much 
more would be proved, but that alone was enough to convict 
the prisoner of treason. He concluded by bestowing a swell- 
ing panegyric upon General Wilkinson, as the saviour ol" the 
American people from tlie horrors of civil war. 

General Eaton was the flrst witness called. lie appeared 
and was sworn, when Colonel Burr objected to that order of 
examining witnesses. General Eaton was called, he said, to 
prove treasonable intentions, before it had been proved that 
any overt act of treason had been committed. No testimony 
of that kind, he contended, was admissible until the overt act 
had been established. This question was argued in an earnest 
and able manner by the counsel on both sides, for several 
hours, Luther Martin distinguishing himself by his familiar- 
ity with precedents and authorities. The day was consumed 
in this critical debate. On the following morning, the court 
gave its decision, as follows : " So far as General Eaton's testi- 
mony relates to the fact charged in the indictment, so far as it 
relates to levying war on Blennerhassett's Island, so far as it 
relates to a design to seize on New Orleans, or to separate by 
force the western from the Atlantic States, it is deemed "rele- 
vant and is now admissible ; so fixr as it respects other plans 
to be executed in the city of Washington, or elsewhere, if it 
indicate a treasonable design, it is a design to commit a distinct 
act of treason, and is therefore not relevant to the present in 
dictment," 

Eaton was then placed upon the stand, and examined at 
length. He was permitted to tell his story in his own way, 



486 LIFE OF AARON BURR. 

with little interruption. As it was Eaton's evidence which 
had most to do with convincing the public of Burr's own day 
tliat he was a traitor of the deepest dye, it is thought due to 
truth and to Aaron Burr, that the wliole of that evidence 
should here be given. I omit only a passage in which the 
witness wandered from Burr to Barbary, and descanted upon 
the disappointments and wrongs he had endured in that part 
of the world. 

"During the winter of 1S05-6," he began, "Aaron Burr 
signitled to me that he was organizing a military expedition to 
be moved against the Spanish provinces, on the south-westeru 
frontiers of the United States: I understood imderthe author- 
ity of the general government. From our existing controver- 
sies with Spain, and from the tenor of the President's com- 
munications to both Houses of Congress, a conclusion was 
naturally drawn, that war with that power was inevitable. I 
had just then returned from the coast of Africa, and having 
been for many years employed on our frontier, or a coast 
more barbarous and obscure, I was ignorant of the estimation 
in which Colonel Burr was held by his country. The dis- 
timruished rank he held in societv, and the strong^ marks of 
coniidence which he had received from his fellow citizens, did 
not permit me to doubt his patriotism. As a military char- 
acter, I had been made acquainted with none within the Uni- 
ted States, under whose direction a soldier might with greater 
security confide his honor than Colonel Burr. In case of my 
country's being involved in a war, I should have thought it 
my duty to obey so honorable a call, as was proposed to me. 
Under impressions like these, I did engage to embark mj'self 
in the enterprise, and pledged myself to Colonel Burr's confi 
dence. At several interviews, it appeared to be his intention 
to convince me by maps and other documents, of the feasi 
bility of penetrating to Mexico. At length, from certain indis- 
tinct expressions and innuendoes, I admitted a suspicion that 
Colonel Burr had other projects. He used strong expressions 
of reproach against the administration of the government : 
accused them of want of character, want of energy, and want 
of gratitude. He seemed desirous of instating my resent- 



THE TRIAL. 487 

ment by dilating on certain injurious strictures I had received 
on the floor of Congress, on account of certain transactions 
on the coast of Tripoli ; and also on the delays in adjusting 
my accounts for advances of money on account of the United 
States ; and talked of pointing out to me modes of honorable 
indemnity. 

"I listened to Colonel Burr's mode of indemnity r and as I 
had by this time began to suspect that the military expedition 
he had on foot was unlawful, I permitted him to believe ray- 
self resigned to his uifluence, that I might understand the ex- 
tent and motive of his arrangements. Colonel Burr now laid 
open his project of revolutionizing the territory west of the 
Alleghany ; establishing an independent empire there ; New 
Orleans to be the capital, and he himself to be the chief; or- 
ganizing a military force on the waters of the Mississippi, and 
carrying conquest to Mexico. After much conversation, which 
I do not particularly recollect, respecting the feasibility of the 
project, as was natural, I stated imj^ediments to his operations ; 
such as the republican habits of the citizens of that<!ountry, 
their attachment to the present administration of the govern- 
ment, the want of funds, the opposition he would experience 
from the regular army of the United States stationed on that 
frontier, and the resistance to be expected from Miranda, in 
case he should succeed in republicanizing the Mexicans. Col- 
onel Burr ai)peared to have no difficulty in removing these 
obstacles. He stated to me, that he had in person (I think 
the preceding season), made a tour through that country ; 
that he had secured to his interests, and attached to his per- 
son (I do not recollect the exact expression, but the meaning, 
and, I believe, the words were), the most distinguished citi- 
zens of Tennessee, Kentucky, and the Territory of Orleans ; 
that he had inexhaustible resources and funds ; that the army 
of the United States would act with him ; that it would be re- 
inforced by ten or twelve thousand men from the above-men- 
tioned States and Territory ; that he had powerful agents in 
the Spanish territory, and ' as for Miranda,' said Mr. Burr, 
facetiously, ' we must hang Miranda.' In the course of sev- 
eral conversations on this subject, he proposed to give me a 



4SS LIFE OF AARON BUKR. 

distinguished command in his army ; I understood hira to say, 
the second command. I askod him \vho vrouUl command in 
chief. He said, General Wilkinson. I observed, that it was 
singular he should count upon General Wilkinson ; the dis- 
tinguished command and high trust he held under govern- 
ment, as the connnander-in-chiefof our army, and as governor 
of a province, he would not be apt to put at luizard for any 
prospect of precarious aggrandizement. Colonel Burr stated 
that General AVilkinson balanced in the contidonce of his 
country ; that it was dovxbtful whether he would much longei 
retain the distinction and contidence he now enjoyed ; and 
that he was prepared to secure to himself a permanency. ] 
asked Colonel Burr if lie knew General Wilkinson, lie said, 
yes; and echoed the question. I told him that twelve years 
ago I was at the same time a captain in the wing of the legion 
of the United States, which General Wilkinson connnanded, 
his acting brigade-major, and aid-de-camp, and that I thought 
I knew him well. He asked me, what I knew of General Wil- 
kinson. • ! said, I knew General Wilkinson would act as lieu- 
tenant to no man in existence. ' You arl^ in an error,' saic 
Mr. Burr, ^ AVilkinson will act as lieutenant to me.' From tht 
tenor of much conversation on this subject, I was prevailed on 
to believe that the plan of revolution meditated by Colonel 
Burr, and communicated to me, had been concerted with 
General Wilkinson, and would have his cooperation ; for Col- 
onel Burr repeatedly, and very confidently expressed his be- 
lief, that the indnence of General Wilkinson with his army, 
the promise of double pay and rations, the ambition of his 
officers, and the prospect of plunder and military achieve- 
ments, would bring the army generally into the measure. I 
pass over here a conversation which took place between 
Colonel Burr and myself respecting a central revolution, 
as it is decided to be irrelevant by the opinion of the 
bench." 

''Mr. Hay. — You allude to a revolution for overthrowing 
the government at Washington, and of revolutionizing the 
eastern States.'' 

" I was passing over that to come down to the period when 



THE T E I A n , 489 

I supposed he had relinquished that design, and adhered to 
the project of revolutionizing the West," 

" Mr, WicKiTAM. — What project do you mean ?" 
"A central general revolution. I was thoroughly con- 
vinced myself that such a project was already so far organ- 
ized as to be dangerous, and tfiat it would require an effort to 
suppress it. For in addition to positive assurances that Colo- 
nel Bu)-r had of assistance and cooperation, he said that the 
vast extent of territory of the United States, west of the AI 
leghany mountains, which offered to adventurers, with a view 
on the mines of Mexico, would bring volunteers to his standard 
from all quarters of the Union. The situation which these 
communications, and the impressions they made upon rae, 
placed me in, was peculiarly delicate, I had no overt act to 
produce against Colonel Burr. He had given me nothing 
upon paper ; nor did I know of any person in the vicinity who 
liad received similar commimications, and whose testimony 
might support mine. He had mentioned to me no person as 
principally and decidedly engaged with him but General Wil- 
kinson ; a Mr. Alston, who, I afterward learned, was his son- 
in-law; and a Mr. Ephraim Kibljy, who, I learned, was late a 
captain of rangers in Wayne's army. Of General Wilkinson, 
Burr said much, as I have stated ; of Mr, Alston, very little, 
but enough to satisfy me that he was engaged in the project ; 
and of Kibby, he said that he was brigade-major in the vicin- 
ity of Cincinnati (whether Cincinnati in Ohio or in Kentucky, 
I know not), wfio had much influence with the militia, and had 
already engaged the majority of the brigade to which he be- 
longed, who were ready to march at Mr, Burr's signal, Mr. 
Burr talked of this revolution as a matter of right, inherent in 
the peo[>le, and constitutional ; a revolution which would 
rather be advantageous than detrimental to the Atlantic 
States ; a revolution which must eventually take place ; and 
for tlie operation of wliich the present crisis was peculiarly 
favorable. He said there was no energy to be dreaded in the 
genei'al government, and his conversations denoted a confi- 
dence that his arrangements were so well made that he should 
meet with no opposition at New Orleans, for the army and 



+00 LIFE OF AAKOX BURR. 

chief ciiiziMis of that ph\oo wore uoav roacly to receive him. 
On the solitary ground upon which I stood, I was at a loss 
how to conduct mysolt^ though at no loss as respected my 
dutv. I durst not place mv lonelv testimony in the balance 
acs^inst the weight of Colonel Burr's character; for by turning 
the tables upon me, which I thought any man, capable of such 
a project, was veiy capable of doing, I should sink under the 
weight. I resolved therefore with myself to obtain the re- 
moval of Mr. Burr from this country in a way Ifonorable to 
him ; and on this I did consult him, without his knowiuir mv 
motive. Accordingly, I waited on the Pivsident of the 
Ignited States, and alter a desultory convei-s^xtion, in which I 
aimed to draw his view to the westward. I took the liberty of 
suggesting to the President that I thought Colonel Burr 
ought to be removed from the country, because I considered 
liim dangerous in it. The President asked where we should 
send him ? Other places n\ight have been mentioned, but I 
believe that Paris, London, anvl ALadrid, were the places which 
were particularly named. The President, without positive ex- 
pression (in such a matter of delicacy), signitied that the trust 
Avas too important, and expressed something like a doubt 
about the integrity of Mr. Burr. 1 frankly told the President 
that perhaps no person had stronger grounds to suspect that 
ititegrity than I had : but that I believed his pride of ambition 
had so predominated over his other passions, that when placed 
on an eminence, .and put on his honor, a respect to liimself 
would secure his fidelity. I perceived that the subject was 
discxgreeable to the Presivlent, and to bring him to my point 
in the shortest mode, and at the same time pohit to the dan- 
ger, I s;ud to him that I expected that we should in eighteen 
months have an iusui'rection, if not a revolution, on the waters 
of the Mississippi. The President s;iid he had too much cou- 
tidence in the information, the integrity, and attachment to 
the Union of the citizens of that country, to admit any appre- 
hensions of that kind. The circunxstance of no interrog-atories 
being made to me, I thought impc^sed silence upon me at that 
time and place. Here, sir, I beg indulgence to declare my 
motives for recommendiuir that tjentleman to a foreisju mission 



THE TRIAL. 491 

at tliat time ; and in the solemnity with wliich I Htand here, I 
declare that Colonel Hiirr was neutral in my ('eeliti<fs ; that it 
was throtif^h no attachment to him that I made that siif^<^(;s~ 
tion, but to avert a ^reat national calamity which I saw ap- 
proachin*^ ; to arrest a tempest which seemed lowering in the 
West ; and to divert into a chaimel of usefulness those con- 
summate talents, which were to mount * the whirlwind and 
direct tlie storm.' These, and these only, were my reasons 
for making that recommendation. 

" About the time of my liaving waited on the Presidcmt, or 
a little before (I can not however be positive whether before 
or afler), I dettirmincd at all events to have some evidence; of 
the integrity of my intentions, and to fortify myself by the ad- 
vice of two gentlemen, members of the House of Itepresenta- 
tivca, whose friendshij) and confidence I had the lienor long 
to retain, and in whose wischjin and integrity I had the utmost 
faith and reliance. T am at lilx^rty to give their names if 
riMjuired. I do not distinctly recollect, but I believe, that I 
had a conversation with a Senator on the subject. I devel- 
oped to them all Mr. Jiurr's plans. They did not seem much 
alarmed. 

" Little morc! passed Ik'1 ween Colonel IJurr and myself, rel 
evant to this inepiiry, while I remained at Washington ; yet, 
though I coidd percieive syini)toms of distrust in him towarc 
me he was solicitous to engage rao in his western plans. 

"I returned to Massachusetts, to my own concerns, and 
thought no more of C'olonel F>urr, or his projects, or revolu- 
tions, until, in October last, a letter was put into iny hands at 
IJrumlield, from Mr. IJelkna}), of Marietta, to T. E. Danielson, 
of Brumtield, stating that Mr. IJurr had contracted for boats 
which were building on the Ohio." 

The cross-examination of this witness elicited nothing of 
ini])ortance. Colonel IJiirr took care to bring out the llict 
that (4eneral Eaton, who had been clamoring in vain for a set- 
tlement of his accounts lor many months, was paid the sum 
of ten thousand dollars a few weeks after making the deposi- 
tion res])ectiiig his conveisation with Uiiir. That depositi<m 
appeared during the delirium of the public mind in January, 



402 LIFE OF AAKON K r n K . 

Nvhilo Congvoss was dobnting the suspension of the Ilahoaa 
Corpus, nnd Mhilo the niilitniy companies of New York, Phil- 
adelphia, Baltimore, and Koston were otVering their services 
to the President in defense of a country supposed to be threat- 
ened, at oiu'e by foreign and domestic foes. Colonel Burr, 
by a quiet question or two, also called attention to the absurd- 
ity of a n\an's setting up for a patriot who tried to induce the 
President to promote a traitor to high and responsible otiice, 
and who. cognizant of that traitor's fell designs, could go 
home and think no more about tlunn ! Xothing but the ex- 
oitemeiu which prevailed in the spring of 1S07 could have 
blinded people to the palpable and gross irreconcilabilities of 
Eatou's testimony. 

Commodore Truxton was the next witness. He testitied 
that Colonel Burr had explained to him his designs \ipou 
3[cxieo, and his intention to settle the lands on the Washita, 
and had invited him to joiu ; but he had declintd. "I asked 
him," said the couuuodore, "if the executive were privy to or 
eoueerned in the project, lie answered, tmp/tatk^rni/, that 
he was xot." The following is part of Commodore Truxtou's 
testimony : 

Truxton. — Colonel Burr said, that at\er the Mexicau expe- 
ditiou, he intended to provide a tormidable navy, at the head 
of which he inteuded to place me : that he intended to estab- 
lish an independent govermueut, and give liberty to an en- 
slaved world. I declined his propositions to nu> at tirst, 
because the President was not privy to the project. He 
asked me the best mode of .attacking the Havana, Cartha- 
gena, and La Vera Cruz ; but spoke of no particular force. 

Question bv Colonel Burr. — Do vou not recollect mv tell- 
ing you of the }nopviety of private expeditions, undertaken 
by individuals in ease of war ; and that there had been such 
in the late war, and that there is no leg-al restraint on such 
expeditious? 

Air. Hay objected to this question as improper. 

Colonel Burr insisted on its propriety, and that the gentle- 
men for the prosecution had set an example tiir beyond it. 

Commodore Truxton answered — You s;ud that "Wilkinson, 



TiTK TriFAr,. 49.3 

tlio iiniiy, and many of tlio officers of the navy would join, 
and you spoke liiglily of Lieutenant Jones. 

(Jolonel J>urr. — Were we not on terms of intimacy ? Was 
there any reserve on my part, in our frequent conversations? 
and did you ever hear me exi)i'oss any intention or sentiment 
respecting a division of the Union ? 

Answer. — We were very intimate. There seemed to be no 
reserve on your part. I never heard you speak of a division 
of the Union. 

Colonel llurr. — Did I not state to you that the Mexican 
expedition wouhl be very benelicial to this country ? 

Answer. — You did. 

Colonel Burr. — Had you any serious doubt as to my inten- 
tion to settle those lands? 

Answer. — So fiir from that, I was astonislied at the intelli- 
gence of your having dilferent views, contained in news- 
papers received from the western country, after you went 
thither.* 

Peter Taylor, formerly a gardener on Blennerhassett Island, 
was next examined. TIk; oidy part of his evidence which 
threw light on the case, was a conversation which had taken 
jjlace between himself and Blennerhassett in October, 1806. 
About that time, said Taylor, Blennerhassett " began to in- 
quire for young men that had rifles; good, orderly men, that 

* It is right to add Ujiit CommodorG Truxtori's ovidcnco is confirmed by 
General Adair, wlio Wixs tlioroughly posHosscd of I^urr's real dosig-na. Adair 
was not examined on the trial, but he wrote, in March, 1807, the following 
statement: "So far as I know or believe of the intentions of Colonel Burr 
(and my enemies wiU agree 1 am not ignorant on this suljjeet), they were to 
prepare and lead an expedition into Mexico, predicated on a war bet^ycen the 
two governments ; without a war he know ho could do nothing. On this 
war taking place ho calculated with certainty, as well from the policy of the 
measure at this time as from the positive assurances of Wilkinson, who 
seemed to have the power to -force it in his own hands. This continued to 
bo llie object of Colonel Burr until ho heard of tlie venal and shameful bar- 
gain made by Wilkinson at the Sabino river; this information he received 
soon attor tho attempt to arrest him in Frankfort. lie thim turned his atten- 
tion altogether toward strengthening himself on tho Wa.yhita, and waiting a 
more fiivorahlo crisis." 



•ty-i, J. 1 F K O F A A U O N r> V U U . 

would be contbrmiUiIo to ordor and discipline. He allowed 
that Colonel Burr and lie and a tew of his friends, had bought 
eight hundred thousand acres of land, and they wanted young- 
men to settle it. He said he would give any young man who 
would go down the river one hundred acres of land, plenty 
of grog and victuals while going down the river, and three 
months' provisions after they luid got to the end ; every 
young man must have his ritie and blanket. I agreed to go 
myseltj if 1 could carry my wile and lauiily, but he said he 
must have further consultation upon that. When I got home 
I began to think, and asked him, what kind of seed we should 
carry with us ? He said we did not want any, the people had 
seeds where we were going. I urged (hat suhject to him sev- 
eral times ; at last he made a sudden pause, and said, ' I will 
tell you what, Peter, we are going to take Mexico ; one of the 
linest and richest places in the whole world.'' He said that 
Colonel Burr would be the khig of Mexico, and Mrs. Alston, 
daughter of Colonel ]>urr, was to be the queen of Mexico, 
whenever Colonel Burr died. He said that Colonel Burr had 
made fortunes for many in his tiuie, but none for hin\self; but 
now he was going to make something for himself He said 
that he had a great many friends in the Spanish territory ; no 
less than two thousand Koman Catholic priests were engaged, 
and that all their friends too would join, if once he could get 
to them ; that the Spaniards, like the French, had got dissatis- 
lied with their government, and wanted to swuj) it. He told 
n\e that the British also were friends in this piece of business, 
and that he should go to England, on this piece of business, 
lor Colonel Burr. He asked me if I would not like to go to 
England. I said I should certaiulv like to see my friends 
there, but would wish to go for nothing else, I then asked 
hiui what was to become of the men who were going to settle 
the lands he talked about ? AVere they to stop at the Ived 
Hiver, or to go on? He said, 'O, by God, I tell you, Peter, 
every man that will not conform to order and discipline, I will 
stab; you'll see how ril lix them;' that when he got them 
far enough down the river, if they did not conform to order 
and discipline, he swore by God he'd stab them. T was aston- 



TUE Till A I- . i95 

i.slied : I told liini I was no soldier, and could not light. He 
said it made no odds ; he did not want me to fight ; he wanted 
me to go and live with Mrs Blennerhassett and the children, 
either at Natchez, or some other place, while he went on the 
expedition. I talked to him again, and told him the people 
liad got it into tlieir heads that he wanted to divide the 
Union. He said Colonel Jjurr and he could not do it them- 
selves. All they could do was to tell the people the conse- 
quence of it. He said the peo})le there paid the government 
upward of four luuidred thousand dollars a year, and never 
received any l^enelit from it. He allowed it would he a very 
fine thing if they coidd keep that money among themselves 
on this side the mountains, and make locks, and hiiild bridges, 
and cut roads." 

Tlie witness further testified that he liad never chanced to 
see Colonel Burr on the island, and ihat the preparations made 
there for the expedition were merely the diying of corn and 
the packing of provisions. There was no " warlike array." 

The Morgans, father and two sons, were then examined. 
Tliey testified ^s stated in the former chapter. 

Jacob Allbright was next called, and led off thus: "The 
first I knew of this business was, T was hired on the island to 
help to build a kiln for drying corn ; and after woi-king some 
time, Mrs. Blenneihassett told me that Mr. Blennerhassett 
and Colonel Burr were going to lay in provisions for an array 
for a year. I went to the mill, where I carried the corn to 
be ground after it had been dried. I worked four weeks in 
that business on the island. Last lall (or in .Se|;tember), 
after Blennerhassett had come home (he had been promising 
me cash for some time), I stept up to him. He had no money 
at the time; but would pay me next day, or soon. Says he, 
'Mr. Allbright, you are a Dutchman.' But he asked me first 
and foremost, whether. I would not join with him and go 
down the river ? I told him I did not know what tliey were 
upon ; and he said, ' Mr. Allbright, we are going to settle a 
new country.' And I gave him aii answer that I would not 
like to leave my family. He said he did not want any fami- 
lies to go along with him. Then he said to me, ' Vou are a 



4i>tJ T.I y K OK* A A U O N H r U K . 

DutohiWiM^ and a ^vnunon m:^u ; ;\«vl jus iho Put oh aro :\jn to 
bo ssoaivvl bv high mou, it' vouMl jiv tv^ Now Lanoa^tor, whoio 
tho Putoh Uyo» auvi uvt uxo twontv v>r tlurtv to ijK> with us^ I 
will iiivo Yv>u as luanv doUai^' Now I.ano.^\sto»- was sinuo vii*» 
tanot> otV. 1 wont homo ihotu and g:>Yo him no answor upon 
that. In a tow days art or tho boats oi^nio and landod at tho 
ishu\d. Tho snow was about two or thivo inohos doop, and I 
wont out a hunting. 1 was oi\ tho <.^hio sido ; 1 mot two uion j 
1 know thoy Wlongwl to tho bvxtts, b»vt 1 wantod to thul out j 
anvl thov askod mo whothor I had not uivon mv oonsont to gvi 
aK^ig with Hh^nnorhassott down thorivor? As wo gi^t into 
a tvnvorsixtion togvthor. thoy namod thomsolvos Ov^h^nol Burr's 
mon, bolongiug to tho boats, Uindod at tho ishxnd. Whon 
thoy askoil n\o whothor 1 )xad not ^vnsontod to gv down with 
lilonnorhassott, I put a quoslion to thon\. 1 told thorn I 
did not know what thoy wen* alx>ul ; and owe of tho gtMitlts 
mon told mo tl\oy won> going to tako a ?alvor mino t\vm tho 
«S/Hr.'MVA, 1 askovi tho gontlomon whothor thoy would not 
allow that this would raiso war with A^norioA ? Thoy ivpliod, 
no. Thov woi\> only a tow mon: and if thov wont with a 
giK>d army, thoy would givo up tho country, and nothing moro 
said about it, Thoso mon showovl n\o what lino ritlos thov 
had gving down tho rivor with thon\," 

Tho witnoss tostitiod turthor that tho mon assoniblod on 
tho island woiv armovl with ritlos and pistols, a^sx>j\ling to the 
custom of tho oinmtrv. Thoi-o woi\> no hwonots; no nn- 
usual store of jx>wdor or bullots ; no military drill or oi'g'i^ni- 
jK^tion. 

lilonnorhassott's gwom g^ivo sin\ilar tostimony. Tho build- 
ing of tho bi^\ts ai\d tho pmvhaso of pn^visions woiv pwvod 
by tho porsv>»>s ooncornod in thv>so transactions, Pmlloy Wood- 
bridg\\ jv\rtnor and agvnt of Blonnorhassott, tostitiod, that 
that gxmtlonxan was worth, oxclusivo of his island and his live 
i\ogi\>os, not more than sovontoon thous^nnd doUai-s ; that he 
was totally vma«.\piainted with military atfaii^ ; that he was so 
short-sighted as not to be able to distinguish a n\an IKmu 
a horse at the vlistmice of ton }v\cos ; and that the gjvater 
{\art of tho expense incurred in buying tho provisioi\s and 



I II K 7 U I A I.. 4'.)7 

\)n't](\]n<^ iho hoat«, WfiH puir], not by fiUinnorhaHHr't, but by 
liu rr. 

Tlif; <!vi'lr;rK;o (>i' \i><; ;il\o.tj<:(l <,\i-rl act bfsrf; jt-.-.U-A. It i» 
not i><:(;t:HH:iry to «ay that no ovrjrt a<;t ha4 bf;<;n prov<:'] ; 
noUiin^jj lik<; an act of treason Jiad b(;«;n proved, Thrj pro«<j- 
cdtion being now aboot to introduce avidcrKU; <^/l)at<;ral and 
ifi'Iircct, th<! (5^;unHcl for the (U'A'atm: (Aijcdhd. I fere they had 
r«-Molv<:d tr; take a ponition, and try all the rehourees of their 
talent", their learning, and tlieir powerH of endurance, in rehi«t/- 
ing the introduction of one word more of testimony, unleMH 
to prove the overt aet. It waw the 20th of Augiit-t (and the 
MeveJiteenth d;iy of tfie trial) when the debate oa lhJ« ques- 
tion b'gan, and it la«ted nine dayw. It wan, doubtleKH, the 
fine.Ht display of legal knowl<;dge and ability of wfiieh the his- 
tory of the Amerieafi bar can boant. The report of it filln 
a large volume. It all turfiH upon the nimple question ho 
often .stated, whether, until i\K;/o/;i of a crime Im proved, any 
thing may be heard f(.'ni)<:cA.]t\'^ the guilty udenHon of the 
person accused. The counnel for the drifenne fj/>ntended, firwt, 
that no overt af;t had been committed ; and, secondly, tliat if 
an overt/ act fiad been committed, the evidence pointed to 
JjlennerhjiKHCtt An the j^rincipal, and to Hurr only a» a pOHsible 
acccHHory, 

Wifikfiam, Martin, I fay, Itandolf^h, liotfn, Afaeliae, all won 
yionor in this keen e-ncounter ; but as tfiey confined themnelves 
cfiielly to the law of the question, and aimed solely to con- 
vince the cl(;ar-hcaded judge who was to <lecide it, their 
HpeechcH are not interesting, nor always intelligible to the un- 
professional reader. In the popiilar view, William Wirt, was 
the hero of the occasion. One famous passage in one of his 
Hpeeches in this debate, fias obtained the last honors of Amer- 
ican literature — it has got into tlie school-books, and is de- 
claimed on exhibition days. Perhaps notfiing ever written 
aljoiit Aaron fiurr has done morrj to make and keep him odi- 
ous than tliis j<iece of fluent, sounding rhetoric. Ivirniliar ;i« 
it is to many readers, whom it has aided to carry off the hon- 
ors of the platform, it nnist be printed here once more ; an.l 
pi'inted entire. 



498 LIFE OF AARON BUKR. 

" Having shown, I think, " said Mr. Wirt, " on the ground 
of law, that the prisoner can not be considered as an accessory, 
let me press the inquiry, whether on the ground of reason 
he be a principal or an accessory ; and remember that his 
project was to seize New Orleans, separate the Union, and 
erect an independent empire in the West, of which he was to 
be the chief. This was the destination of the plot, and the con- 
clusion of the drama. Will any man say that Blennerhassett 
was the principal, and Burr but an accessory ? AVho will be- 
lieve that Burr, the author and projector of the plot, who 
raised the forces, who enlisted the men, and who procured the 
funds for carr}ing it into execution, was made a cat's paw of? 
Will any man believe that Burr, who is a soldier, bold, ardent, 
restless, and aspiring, the great actor, whose brain conceived, 
and whose hand brought the plot into operation, that he 
should sink down into an accessory, and that Blennerhassett 
should be elevated into a principal ? He would startle at 
once at the thought. Aaron Burr, the contriver of the whole 
conspiracy, to everybody concerned in it was as the sun to the 
planets which surround him. Did he not bind them in their 
respective orbits and give them their light, their heat, and 
their motion ? Yet he is to be considered an accessory, and 
Blennerhassett is to be the principal ! 

"Let us put the case between Burr and Blennerhassett. Let 
us compare the two men and settle this question of prece- 
dence between them. It may save a good deal of troublesome 
ceremony hereafter. 

" Who Aaron Burr is, we have seen in part already. I will 
add, that beginning his operations in New York, he associates 
with him men whose wealth is to supply the necessary funds. 
Possessed of the main spring, his personal labor contrives all 
the machinery. Pervading the continent from New York to 
New Orleans, he draws into his plan, by every allurement 
which he can contrive, men of all ranks and descriptions. To 
youthful ardor he presents danger and glory ; to ambition, 
rank, and titles, and honors ; to avarice, the mines of Mexico. 
To each person whom he addresses he presents the object 
adapted to his taste. His recruiting officers are appointed. 



THE TRIAL, 499 

Men are engaged throtighout the continent. Civil life is in- 
deed quiet upon its surface, but in its bosom this man has con- 
trived to deposit the materials which, with the sliglitest touch 
of his match, produce an explosion to shake the continent. All 
this his restless ambition has contrived ; and in the autumn of 
1806 he goes forth for the last time to a})ply this match. On 
his occasion he meets with Blennerhassett. 

"Who is Blennerhassett? A native of Ireland, a man of let- 
ters, who fled from the storms of his own country to find quiet 
in ours. His history shows that war is not the natural element 
of his mind. If it had been, he never would have exchanged 
Ireland for America. So far is an army from furnishing the 
society natural and proper to Mr. Blennerhassett's character, 
that on his arrival in America, he retired even from the popu- 
lation of the Atlantic States, and sought quiet and solitude in 
the bosom of our western forests. But he carried with him 
taste, and science, and wealth; and lo, the desert smiled ! Pos- 
sessing himself of a, beautiful island in the Ohio, he rears upon 
it a palace and decorates it with every romantic embeUishment 
of fimcy. A shrubbery, that Shenstone might have envied, 
blooms around him. Music, that might have charmed Calypso 
and her nymphs, is his. An extensive libraiy spreads its treas- 
ures before him. A [diilosophical apparatus offers to him all 
the secrets and mysteries of nature. Peace, tranquillity, and 
innocence shed their mingled delights around him. And to 
crown the enchantment of the scene, a wife, who is said to be 
lovely even beyond her sex, and graced with every accomplish- 
ment that can render it irresistible, had blessed bim with her 
love and made him the father of several children. The evi- 
dence would convince you that this is but a faint picture of 
the real life. In the midst of all this peace, this innocent sim- 
plicity and this tranquillity, this feast of the mind, this pure 
banquet of the heart, the destroyer comes ; he comes to change 
this paradise into a hell. " Yet the flowers do not wither at his 
approach. No monitory shuddering through the bosom of 
their unfortunate possessor warns him of the ruin that is com- 
ing upon him. A stranger presents himself Introduced to 
their civilities by the high rank which he had lately held in hia 



500 LIFE OF A A K O N H IKK. 

country, ho soon Jinds ]\is \v:^v to thoir hearts, bv the diiiuitv 
find elegtuioo of his demeanor, the Hght and beauty of his eon- 
vei^sation, and the seductive and fascinating power of his ad- 
dress. The conquest was not ditiicult. Innocence is ever sim- 
ple and credulous. Conscious of no design itself, it suspects 
none in othei-s. It wears no guard before its breast. Every 
door and portal and avenue of the heart is thrown open, and 
all who choose it enter. Such was the state of Eden when the 
serpent entered its bowei-s. The prisoner, in a more engaging 
form, winding himself into the opcn^^ud unpracticcd heart of 
the unfortunate I^lennerhassett, found but little ditHculty in 
changing the native character of that heart and the objects of 
its at^H'tion. By degrees he infuses into it the poison of his 
own ambition. lie breathes into it the tire of his own courage; 
a daring and despoi^ate thii-st for gloiy ; an ardor panting for 
groat enterprises, for all the storm, and bustle, and hurricane 
of "life. In a short time the whole niaii is changed, and every 
object of his former delight is relinquisheil. No moi'o he en- 
joys the tranquil scene: it has become tlat and insipid to his 
taste, llis books are abandoned. His retort and crucible are 
thrown aside. His shrubbery blooms and breathes its fra- 
grance upon the air in vain : he likes it not. His ear no longer 
drinks the rich melody of music ; it longs for the trumpet's 
clangor and the cannon's roar. Even the prattle of his babes, 
once so sweet, no longer affects him ; and the ang-el smile of 
his wife, which hitherto touched his bosom with ecstacy so un- 
speak.able, is now unseen and mifelt. Greater objects have 
taken possession of his soul. His imagination has been dazzled 
by visions of diadems, of stai-s and gartei"*, and titles of nobil- 
ity. He has been taught to burn with restless emulation at 
the names of great heroes and conqueroi-s. His enchanted 
island is destined soon to relapse into a wilderness : and in a 
few months we tind the beautiful and tender partner of his 
bosom whom he lately "permitted not the winds of' summer 
Mo visit too roughly,' we tind her shivering at midnight, on 
the winter banks of the Ohio, and mingling her teai-s with the 
tovrents, that froze as they fell. Yet this unfortunate man, 
thus deluded from his interest and his happiness, thus seduced 



r n K 'J' j£ r A L. .OOl 

from the pathH of innocence and peace, tliim confounded in the 
toilH that were deliljerately spread for him arul overwhelmed 
by the mnnUirmp; spirit and genius of another — this man, thus 
iiiined and undoiw;, and made to play a subordinate part in this 
grand drama of guilt and treason — this man is to be called the 
principal offender, while he, by whom he was tlius plunged in 
misery, is comparatively innocent, a mere accessory ! Is this 
reason? Is it law? Is it liumanity ? Sir, neither the human 
heart nor the human und(!rHtanding will bear a perversi<jn so 
monstrous and absurd I yo shocking to the soul ! so revolting 
to reason! Let Aaron Burr then not shrink from the high 
destination wliicli he has courted, and having already ruined 
Hl(!nnerhassett in foilune, character, and happiness for ever, 
let him not attem|)t to linish the tragedy Ijy thrusting that ill- 
lated man between himself and punishm<;nt. 

" Upon the whole, sir, reason declares Aaron Burr the prin- 
cipal in this crime, and confirms herein the sentence of tlie law ; 
and the gentl(;man, in saying that liis offense is of a derivative 
and accessorial nature, begs th(! question and draws his con- 
clusions from what, instead of being conceded, is denied. It 
is clear from what has been said, that Burr did not derive his 
guilt from the men on the island, but imparted his own guilt 
to them ; that he is not an accessory, but a princij>al ; and 
therefore;, that there is nothing in the objection which demands 
a record of their conviction before we shall go on with our 
proof against liim." 

In curious contrast with this oration is a passage in a letter 
from Mrs, Blennerliassett to her husband, written on the 3d 
of August, which he received during the debate of which Mr. 
Wirt's brilliant fiction was a part, lie might, indeed, have 
been reading it at the very moment that Wirt was in the full 
flow of his oratorical romance, " Apprise Colonel Buir," 
she wrote, "of my warmest acknowledgments, for his own 
and Mrs, Alston's kind i'<;membranc(! ; and tell him to assure 
liei" she has inspired me with a warmth of attachment which 
never can diminish, I wish him to urge her to write to me," 

In contrast only less striking is the diary of Mr, Blenner- 
hassett, which he kept during the trial, while he was in con- 



502 T, l F K OF A A R ON B U R K . 

tinoinont. "When l>lom;orl\assott wroto tho passages about to 
bo qviotod, ho wasah-oady in disputo witli Uiu-r ami with Als- 
ton rospootiiig" tho proper apportiomnont of thoir oonunou pe- 
cuniary loss. Yet lie eonld write of hin\ in terms like these : 

"The vivaeity of Burr's wit, and the exercise ot' his proper 
talents, now constantly solicited here, (at Kichniond) in pri- 
vate and public exhibition, while they display his powers and 
address at the levee and the bar, nuist engross more of his 
time than he can s}\'ire from the demands of other gratifica- 
tions; while they display him to the eager eyes of the n\ulti- 
tnde, like a tavorite gladiator, measuring over tlie arena of his 
fame with lirn\ step and manly grace, the pledges of easy 
victory." 

******** 

"1 visited 1-Jurr this morning, lie is a^ gay as usual, and 
ai! busy in speculations on reorganizing his projects for action 
svs if he had never sutfered the least interruption. He ol>- 
served to Major Smith and me, that in six months our schemes 
could be :vll remounted; that we could now new model them 
in a better mold than tbrmerly, having a better view of tho 
ground, and a more pertect knowledge of our men. We were 
silent. It sliould yet be granted, that if Kurr possessed sen- 
sibility of the right sort, with one hundredth part of the en- 
ergies for which, with inany. he has obtained such ill-grounded 
credit, his tirst and last detcrnnnation, with the morning and 
the night, should be the destruction of those enemies who 
have so long and eruellv wreaked their malicious vengeance 
on hin\.'' 

"T was glad to tind Kurr had at last thought of asking us 
to dine with him, as I was rather curious again to see him 
shitie in a parfie (i>iarn\>^ consisting of new characters. AYe 
therefore walked with him from court ; Luther Martin, who 
lives with him, accompanying us. The dinner was neat, and 
followed by three or four sorts of wine. Splendid poverty ! 
During the chit-chat, atler the cloth was removed, a letter 
was handed to Burr, next to wliom I sat. I immediately 
<«u\elt niusk. Kurr broke the seal, put the cover to his nose, 



Til 15 T li (AT,, fi03 

and then handed it to mo, saying — ' This amounts to a dis- 
closure.' I smelled the pa|)er, and said, ' I think ho.' Tho 
whole physioj^iiorny of tho man now assiimcd an alteration 
and vivacity that, to a stranger vvlio had never seen liim be- 
fore, would have sunk full fifteen years of his age. 'This,' 
said he, 'reminds me of a detection very neatly practiced 
upon me in New York.' (He then related^ the story of the 

musk-scented note, given in a former chapter.) 

* * ^«- * •» * 

" After some time Martin and Prevost withdrew, and we 
passed to the topics of our late adventures on the MiHsisHi})pi, 
in which JJurr said little, but declared lie did not know of any 
reason to l)lame General Jackson, of T^'Am^^HH^;(^, for any thing 
lie had done or omitted. But he declares he will not lose a 
day after the favorable issue at the capitol (his acquittal), of 
which he has no doid;t, to direct his entire attention to set- 
ting up his projects (which have only been suspended) on a 
better model, ' in which work,' he says, ' he has even here 

made some progress.' " 

****** 

" I have seen a complete file of all the depositions, made 
before the grand jury, in J3urr's possession. It must be con- 
fessed that ihw other men, in his circumstances, could have 
procured these documents out of the custody of offices filled 
by his inveterate enemies. Burr asserted, to-day, in court, 
that he expected documents that would disqualify Eaton as a 

witness." 
****** 

" As we were chatting, after dinner, in staggered tho whole 
rear-guard of Burr's forensic army — I mean, the celebrated 
Luther Martin, who yesterday concluded his fourteen h-ours' 
speech. Ilis visit was to Major Smith, but he took me by the 
hand, saying there was no need of an introduction. I was 
too much interested by tho little I had seen, and the great 
things I had heard, of this man's powers and passions, not to 
improve tho present opportunity to survey him in every light 
the length of his visit would permit. I accordingly recom- 
mended our brandy as superior, placing a pint-tumbler before 



504 LIFE OF AARON BURR. 

liim. No ceremonies retardod tlic libation ; no inquiries so- 
licited him upon any subject, till apprehensions of his ■with- 
drawing suogested some topic to quiet him on liis seat. 
Were I now to mention only tlie subjects of law, politics, 
news, et cetera, on which he descanted, I should not be be- 
lieved, when 1 said his visit did not exceed thirty-tive minutes. 
Imagine a man cajiable, in that space of time, to deliver some 
account of an entire week's proceedings in the trial, with ex- 
tracts from memory of several speeches on both sides, includ- 
ing long ones from his own ; to recite half columns verbatim 
of a series of papers, of which he said he is the author ; to 
caricature Jeiferson ; to give a history of his acquaintance 
with Burr ; expatiate on Ids virtues and suiferings, maintain 
his credit, embellish his fame, and intersperse the whole with 
sententious reprobations and praises of several otlier charac- 
ters ; some estimate, with these preparations, may be formed 
of this man's powers, which are yet shackled by a preternat- 
lU'al secretion or excretion of saliva which embarrasses his de- 
livery. In this, his manner is rude, and his language ungram- 
matical ; which is cruelly aggravated upon his hearers, by the 
verbosity and repetition of his style. With the warmest pas- 
sions, that hurry him, like a torrent^ over those characters or 
topics that lie most in the way of their course, he has, by 
practice, acquired the taculty of curbing his feelings, which he 
never sutlers to charge the enemy till broken by the superior 
numbers of his arguments and authorities, by which he always 
out-tlanks him, when he lets loose the reserve upon the center, 
with redoubled impetuosity. Yet fancy has .been denied to 
his mind, or grace to his person or habits. These are gross, 
and incapable of restraint, even upon the most soltiiun public 
occasions. This is, at all times, awkward and disgusting. 
Hence, his invectives are rather coarse than pointed ; his eu- 
logiums more fulsome than pathetic. In short, every trait of 
his portrait may be given in one word — he is ' the Thersites 

of the laic: >' 

» o 4» « i> « 

'' \Yirt spoke very much to engage the fancy of his hearers, 
to-dav, without jitiecting their understanding. For be can 



T II K T It I A I. . rior* 

not reason upon tlio facts bof'oro liiiii, and can no morc! con- 
duct a law arj^ument than I could raise a temple ; as Junius 
says of tlie kiii<r: 'The feather that adorns liim supports his 
flight; Ktri|) him of liis plumage, and you lix him to earth !' " 
* * * * ♦ 

"I called on IJurr this morning, when he at last men- 
tioned to me, during a short tote-a-tete, (hat lu; was pr('j)ar- 
ing to go to England ; that the time was now auspicious fJjr 
him, and he wished l,o know whether I could give him letters. 
I answered that I sup[)os(Ml, when he incntionc'd Kngland, he 
meant London, as his business would probably be with people 
ill odice ; that I knew none of the present ministry, nor did I 
believe I had a single accpiaintancc in London. He replied 
that he meant to visit every part of the; country, and would 
be glad to get letters to any one. I said I would think of it, 
that T might discover whether I liad any friends there whom 
it would be an object worth liis attention to know, and took 
leave. We can only conjecture liis designs. For my part, I 
am disposed to suspect that he has no serious intent of revir- 
ing any of his speculations in America, or even of returning 
from Europe if he can get there." 

Thus Blennerhassett. 

It may as well bo further stated, that Blennerhassett was not 
ruiiu'd through liis connecition with Burr, but by his own indo- 
lence and lolly, aided by JelFerson's embai'go, and the war of 
1812. After the trial was ov<!r he went home to lind his shrub- 
bery that Hhenstone might have envied, etc., laid waste by the 
Vandals of the Ohio river, who had taken advantage of the mas- 
ter's absence to gratify their abhorrence of (ilegance and taste. 
He removeil afterward to Mississippi, where he bought a cot- 
ton plantation of a thousand acres, which his wife managed, and 
for a while made profitabll^ ]>ut the continuance of the em- 
bargo, and the war which followed it, depressed the cotton 
interest, and completed the ruin of the Itlennerhassetts. 

If Blennerhassett had never seen Aaron Burr, he must have 
run through his fortune in a few years — for he was living far 
beyond his income, and was singularly destitute of the ability 
to add to his capital. Moreover, he probably lost less in pro- 

22 



506 LIFE OF AAKON BUKR. 

portion to his means than any other of Burr's leading confed- 
erates. 

The passage from Mr. Wirt's speech, which is quoted above, 
always appealed strongly to Burr's sense of the ridiculous. It 
was a standing joke with him for the rest of his life. He 
laughed over the recollection of it a thousand times. In the 
company of familiar friends, he would repeat the most exag- 
gerated parts of the speech, and then narrate, with a kind of 
humorous exactness, the actnal facts of his connection with 
Bleunerhassett, which were as different from Wirt's version of 
them as fact ever is from romantic fiction. 

But to return to the court-room. 

On Saturday evening, August 29th, the great debate was 
concluded in an impressive speech by Mr. Bandolph. The 
court adjourned. On Monday morning, the Chief Justice 
was ready with his decision, Avhich every one felt would de- 
cide the case, as well as the motion to exclude furtlicr testi- 
mony. An overt act had certainly not been shown ; and if 
the prosecution were debarred from adding testimony show- 
ing criminal intention, the case must go at once to the jury, 
who could not hesitate a moment to acquit the prisoner. The 
breathless interest with which the bar, the prisoner, and the 
auditors, listened to the great judge's clear and cogent reas- 
oning, may be imagined. 

" The question now to be decided," he began, " has been 
argued in a manner worthy of its importance, and with an 
earnestness evincino- the strong conviction felt bv the counsel 
on each side that the law is with them. A degree of elo- 
quence seldom displayed on any occasion, has embellished a 
solidity of argument and a depth of research, by which the 
court has been greatly aided in forming the opinion it is about 
to deliver." With this brief introduction, he proceeded at 
once to grapple with the subject, and discussed it in so nuis- 
terly a manner, that one ignorant of law may read the de- 
cision still with interest and pleasure, merely as an essay on 
the nature and evidence of treason. The reading lasted 
nearly three hours. As he was about to close, the Chief Just- 
ice alluded to the remarks which had fallen from all the coun 



THK TRIAL. 607 

8el at difFerent times, respecting the political considcrationa 
wliich might sway the mind of a judge in deciding a case Uke 
that then before the court. lie made this allusion with excel- 
lent taste and judgment. The reader will peruse with admi 
ration the closing ])aragraphs of this celebratfd decision. 

" Much has been said in the course of the argument on 
points on which the court feels no inclination to comment par 
ticularly ; but which may, perhaps, not irajiroperly receivt 
some notice. 

" That this court dares not usurp power is most true. That 
this court dares not shrink from its duty is not less true. No 
man is desirous of placing himself in a disagreeable situation. 
No man is desirous of becoming the peculiar subject of cal- 
umny. No man, might he let the bitter cup pass from hira 
without self-reproach, would drain it to the bottom. But if 
he have no choice iti the case, if there be no alternative pre- 
sented to him but a dereliction of duty or the opprobrium of 
those who are denominated the world, he merits the contempt 
as well as the indignation of his country who can hesitate 
which to embrace 

"That gentlemen, in a case the most interesting, in the zeal 
with which they advocate particular (Opinions, and under the 
conviction in some measure produced by that zeal, should on 
each side press their arguments too far, should be impatient at 
any delibei-ation in the court, and should suspect or fear the 
operation of motives to which alone they can ascribe that de- 
liberation, is perhaps a frailty incident to human nature ; but 
if any conduct on the part of the court could warrant a senti- 
ment that it would deviate to the one side or the other from 
the line prescribed by duty and by law, that conduct would 
be viewed by the jikdges themselves with an eye of extreme 
severity, and would long be recollected with deep and serious 
regret. 

" The arguments on both sides have been intently and de- . 
liberately considered. Those which could not be noticed, 
since to notice every argument and authority would swell this 
opinion to a volume, have not been disregarded. The result 
of the whole is a conviction, as complete as the mind of the 



o08 LIFE OF AAKOX BURR. 

eonrt is capable of receiving on a complex subject, that the 
motion must prevail. 

" No testimony relative to the conduct or declarations of 
the prisoner elsewhere and subsequent to the transaction on 
Blennerhassett's Island can be admitted ; because such testi- 
mony, being in its nature merely corroborative, and incompe- 
tent to prove the overt act in itself, is irrelevant until there be 
proof of the overt act by two witnesses. 

" This opinion does not comprehend the proof by two wit- 
nesses that the meeting on Blennerhassett's Island was pro- 
cured by the prisoner. On. that point the court for the pres- 
ent withholds its opinion for reasons which have been already 
assiizned ; and as it is unvlerstood from the statements made 
on the part of the prosecution that no such testimony exists. 
If there be such, let it be oflered ; and the court will decide 
upon it. 

"The jury have now heard the opinion of the court on the 
law of the case. They will apply that law to the facts, and 
will tind a verdict of jruiltv or not ijuiltv as their own con- 
sciences may direct." 

When the judge ceased, and the irrepressible buzz of ex- 
citement which arose in the court-room had subsided, Mr. 
Hay requested time for himself and his associates to redect 
npon the decision. No one objecting, the court adjourned 
until the next morning, when Mr. Hay intimated his willing- 
ness to let the case go to the jury without further remark. 
The inrv retired. In a few minutes, thev returned with the 
following irregular verdict, which was read by the foreman : 

"We, of the jury, say that Aaron Burr is not proved to be 
fifuiltv under the indictment bv anv evidence submitted to us. 
"We, therefore, find him not ijniltv." 

Colonel Burr rose and, in a manner more like vehemence 
than he had before exhibited, protested against the form of 
the verdict, and demanded that it be rendered in the usual 
terms. An animated eonvei"sation arose, in which prisoner, 
judge, counsel, and jury, all took part ; and, at length, as some 
of the jury would not consent to an alteration, the matter was 



I'M ic r iji A T,. r>09 

compromisoil by a('0(>ptiiiij;- tlu> vi-rdict as romlorod, hnl oiitor- 
ing" it on tlio ic'cord, simply, "not i>;uilty." 

A nu\ssout;(M- boro tlir innvs of tlio ucciuittal to TiicodoHia. 
AVIiil(> her Ihtlior was iiisistini;- upon liis ri<;lit (o a niori- aniplo 
vindication at tbo bands oC (hi> jnry, slio was wiitino- (lio 
intelligcnco to a dear Iriend, tlio wilo ol' ono ol' Uvv inothci's 
sons, in whoso family iirclnves it ia still prosorvod. I am por- 
mitti'd to copy tlio part of it wliioli folates to Colonel I>iiit : 

"^ I have this momont rccoivod a nu'ssaujo from court an- 
nouncini>; to mo that the jury has broui;ht in a vortru't of ac- 
quittal, and I hasten to inform you of it, my dear, to allay tho 
anxiety which, with even more than your usual sweetness, 
you have expressed in your letter of the 22d of July. It 
alHicts me, indeed, to think that you should have suHered so 
much from sympathy with the imagined state of my feelinjjjs 
— l()r the knowledge of my father's innocence, my ineHablo 
contempt for his enemies, and the elevation of his mind, have 
kept me above any sensations bordering on de[)ressioii. In- 
deed, my father, so far froui accepting of sympathy, has con- 
tinually animated all around him ; it was i-ommon to see his 
des|)ondino- fi-icnds filled with alarm at some new occurrence, 
terrified with souui new appi'aranci^ of danger, Hy to him in 
search of encouragement, and support, and lauglu'<I out of 
their fears by the subject t)f them. This T have witnessi'd 
every day, aiul it almost persuaded me that he possessed tho 
secret of re})elling danger as well as apprelu'nsion. Sincc^ my 
residence here, of which some days and a night were passed 
in the penitentiary, our little liimily circle has been a scene of 
uninti'rru[)ted gJiyety. Thus you see, my lovely sister, this 
visit has been a real party of pleasure. Fi'om many of the 
lirst inhabitants I have received the most unremitting and 
delicate attentions, sympathy, indeed, of any I ever experi 
onoed," 

The news was received' by Mr. Jefferson with very dilVerent 
feelings. He wrote immediately to JMr. Hay, telling him to 
let no witness depart without taking a co{)y of his evidence, 
which, s;ud he, is '■'• noio more importaut them ever f''"' thus in- 
timating, that the real object of the prosecution was not so 



510 LIFEOPAAEON^BUEE, 

much to convict Aaron Burr of treason, as to acquit Thomas 
Jofterson of precipitate and ridiculous credulity. " The crim- 
inal," continued the President, " is preserved to become the 
rallying-point of all the disaffected and worthless of the Ignited 
States, and to be the pivot on which all the intrigues and con- 
spiracies which foreign governments may wish to disturb us 
with, are to turn. If he is convicted of the misdemeanor, the 
judge must in decency give us respite by some short contine- 
nient of him ; but we must expect it to be very short. Be 
assured yourself, and communicate the same assurance to your 
colleagues, that your and their zeal and abilities have been 
displayed in this affair to my entire satisfaction and your own 
honor," 

But the prisoner was not convicted of " the misdemeanor," 
The day after being acquitted of treason he was released from 
prison on bail, and the proceedings on the charge of misde- 
meanor began. Colonel Burr and his counsel contended, in a 
debate of many hours, that a man can not lawfully be tried 
twice for the same offense ; and that the verdict of the jury 
entitled him to a complete discharge. It was decided other- 
wise, however, and the new trial lingered day after day, week 
after Aveek, with reams of argument upon every point, until 
the last week in October, Wilkinson was examined, and told 
his story. Much has been made by the friends of Burr of 
Wilkinson's admission that he made certain slight alterations 
in the cipher-letter, and then swore that liis version of it was 
a true deciphering of the original. The admission may con- 
demn Wilkinson, but does not exonerate Burr, because the 
alterations do not affect the general drill of the letter — do 
not affect the fact that Aaron Burr, who plumed himself upon 
his soldierly honor, tried to induce a soldier to adopt a course 
of proceeding which was contrary to the known policy of the 
government, whose commission he held, and whose uniform he 
wore. Not hastily would I condemn a man whose errors were 
expiated as no man's ever were expiated before, and upon 
whom the craven rhetoricians have delighted to heap oppro- 
brious epithets. But so much must be admitted: As long as 
the cipher-letter, as deciphered by the grand jury, exists unex- 



I 



THE TRIAL. 611 

plained, so long must Aaron Burr be denied a place in the 
catalogue of those who have attempted great enterprises by 
honorable moans alone. 

He was acquitted of the charge of misdemeanor, on the 
ground that the oftense was not committed in Virginia, but in 
Ohio. Burr communicated the result to his daughter, who 
had returned to South Carolina, in these words: "After all, 
this is a sort of drawn battle. The Chief Justice gave his 
opinion on Tuesday. After declaring that there were no 
gronnds of suspicion as to the treason, he directed that Burr 
and Blennerhassett should give bail in three thousand dollars 
for further trial in Ohio. This opinion was a matter of regret 
and surprise to the friends of the Chief Justice, and of ridicule 
to his enemies — all believing that it was a sacrifice of princi- 
ple to conciliate Jcick Cade. Mr. Hay immediately said that 
he should advise the government to desist from further 
p)'osecutio7i. That he has actually so advised, there is no 
doubt." 

Thus, eight months after his arrest in Alabama, and six- 
months after the commencement of his trial at Richmond, he 
was free once more. The trial had not restored his good 
name. The ardent Jeffersonians, and all who had any thing 
to hope from the favor of the administration, denounced him 
without mercy or moderation — the papers in the interest of 
the government, of course, leading the cry. If the Federal- 
ists seemed to give him a faint support, it was only because to 
defend Burr was to disgust Jeiferson. He was a ruined man. 
There was no resource left for him in his own country, even 
if there was a place in it where his person would be safe. 

Late in the autumn, he went to lialtimore, where he was 
entertained in princely style by Luther Martin. Mr. Barney 
tells an anecdote or two respecting his stay in Baltimore. One 
day, while he was dining with a large company at Luther 
Martin's house, a military comi)any, with a band playing a 
lively air, passed the house. It was supposed tiiat the com- 
pany intended to compliment Colonel Burr, who, accordingly 
rose from the table, threw open the window, and gracefully 
bowed to them. 



612 LIFE OF AAKON BURR. 

" Why, colonel," exclaimed a humorous fellow in the room, 
" they are playing the Rogue's March, with charged bay- 
onets !" 

The windows were quickly closed, the company returned to 
their wine, and voted the captain of the company to ho a very 
orticious individual. "The next day," continues IJarney, 
" strolling down Market-street, arm in arm with my persecu- 
ted friend, Mr. Hughes overtook us. 'Colonel,' said he, 'pass 
Light-street without looking down — Fountain Inn is sur- 
rounded by uroups of your admiring friends. Captain Fraily 
is out of uniform to-day, but there is a general desire mani- 
fested to give you a warm reception in citizens' clothes. You 
must take your departure without further civil or military 
honors being conferred upon you,' With his accustomed ce- 
lerity of action and excellent judgment, the colonel called a 
hack and jumped into it. 

'' ' Colonel, my friend Barney will accompany you. You will 
have a pleasant drive out to llerron's Run. 1 will secure a 
seat in the stage coach, take charge of your baggage, swop 
you for my friend Barney, bring him home, and send you on 
your way to rejoice escaping being hustled by a Baltimore 
luob,' 

" Colonel Burr intinuited that he was too old a soldier to run 
away, in that manner, from a lawless mob. 'That is all tine 
bravado,' said IIuglu>s ; ' Barney and I have no desire to shoot 
down, or be shot by our /ollow-citizens. You may throw your 
life away, colonel, but this bright world has too many attrac- 
tions for us to throw away ours in defending you, when a 
pleasant ride of half an hour will save you from danger, and 
restore us to our atfectionate parents.' " 

He yielded, and was seen no more in Baltimore. 



CHATTER XXVII. 

THE EXILE. 

HIS RESIDKNOK I >f K NO I, AND. 

Bails pou Knoland — Parting with Tiihodosi a — Intkrviicws with Canning, Castlb- 
iiitAdii, ANi> Miri.auAvi! — Tiirtoatknki) WITH Kxi'iiLBioN FiioM England — Claims 
TO iiic A ISritihii HiriiJiccn' — llis Suoonsa in Booikty — Charles Lamii — Bicntiiam 

— AnkODOTHH Olf lUrRR and IIUNTIIAM — II18 OcOUl' ATIONS IN LoNDON — I'LAN« FOR 
ReTRIHVIN(1 IMS Ii'oK'I'lINKH — BAMIFKL S W ART VVOOT'h HoIIKMK — HuRR'B ToUU IN TllH 

North — A Month in Euinuuru — Turuatknkd with Ahricst. 

Ar th.'it tiiiu!, :is now, British ni.'iil-packets sailed from New 
Yorlc and called at IlaliCax on their way to England. The 
Clarissa was the packet for June, 1808. Among the twcnty- 
si.K passengers who <)vererowde<l the cabin of the Clarlssd on 
that voyagi!, was a silent, I'eading, gentlemanlike person, who 
appeared in tlio passenger list as G. II. IMioards. He occu- 
pied a third part of a small state-room, and paid sixty guineas 
for liis j)assage. There was no Mr. Edwards on board wlieu 
the ship lel't her whai'f at New York, l)ut as she lay at anchor 
one evening in the lower bay waiting for a (iiir wind, a jiilot- 
boat swept round lier bows, and lay to wliile a skiff conveyed 
another j)assenger to her side. It was known to no one but 
tlie ca[)tain that tliis passenger, announced as the expected 
Mr. Edwards, was Aaron IJurr. 

Foi' a niontli previous he had been concealed in New York, 
or its vicinity, at the houses of his friends, llis mov-cments 
duiing that period were shrouded in mystery. His conduct 
was that of a mail fearing arrest lor a capital offense, rather 
than that of one who liad just been acquitted. Theodosia wan 
in the city. L(!tt(;rs passed between the liither and daughter 
daily, in which plans for meeting were discussed with the cau- 
tion of conspirators. He wrote every note ap|)arently in fear 
that it would be intercepted. " If we should not meet, to-day," 

'22* 



514 LIFE OF AARON BURR. 

ho tolls her on one occasion, ''I sliall write something in which 
I shall speak ot' vou in the third person, under the name of 
Anne." 

During this Imrried and anxious month he is still his daugh- 
ter's tutor and thought t'ul adviser. He gently reproves her 
for not aeknow ledging the receipt of each article of his last 
enclosure, and says he thought she was long ago cui-ed of that 
negligent way of answering a letter. He praises the fortitude 
with which she supports the agony of the coming separation. 
He counnends lu'r epistolary style. ''There is,'' he says, ''a 
selection, an energy, and aptitude in your expressions, which, 
to use the vulgar male slang, ?V not Jenu'/ihie.-^ He tells her, 
that while lie is in Europe he may put her in correspondence 
with literary characters, and cautions her against taking the 
tone oi' one who feels hei-self flattered by such a correspond- 
ence. Of all animals, he says, authors are the vainest ; no 
eulogies t>f their works can be too gross, or too ot\eu repeated. 
Yet he advises her to be discriminate in her praise, selecting 
tlie real merits oi' a work for remark, which will both prove 
her discernn\ent and save her sincerity. All such letters, he 
adds, will be sure at some time or other to get into print. 
He tenderly prepared her tor the last interview, which he 
feared would be more than she could bear. One whole night, 
he assures her, they shall be together before the tin,il separa- 
tion. '' Make haste,'' he said, '' to gather strength for tlie oc- 
casion : your etforts on the late interview were wonderful, and 
Ood grant they may not have exhausted you I" The dreaded 
evening arrived. The last words of love, and griet^ and hope 
»vere spoken ; the father tore himself from his daughter's arms, 
and stole awav to tlie bo.at that was in waitino- to convev liim 
down the harbor to the Long Island shore. 

Kurr used every precaution to conceal his departure. He 
left with A[rs. Alston the outline of a paragraph to be set 
atloat in the papei*s at\er the ship had sailed, to the etfect that 
on a certain day Colonel Burr, with one Frenchman and two 
Americans, had passed tVirough a designated place on his way 
to Canada. He let\ the city on the 1st of June, but the ship 
did not ><ail till the 0th. Tliose da}s of waiting he passed on 



THE EXILIC 515 



tlie shores of the harbor, crossing occasionally from Long Isl- 
and to Staten Island, and visiting such friends in the luiigh- 
borhood as were in his secret. Like a criminal, he iled from 
the country which had once delighted to honor him — from 
the city in whose counsels his voice had been potential, and 
of whose society he had been esteemed an ornament. 

At llaliliix lie received letters of introduction from Sir 
George Prevost to his family and i'riends in England ; also, a 
passport certifying that " G. II. Edwards was bearer of dis- 
patches to the Right Honorable Lord (lastlereagh, at whose 
office he was innncdiately to present himself on his arrival in 
London." Thirty-five days after leaving New York, the 
packet anchored in the harbor of l^'almouth, and on the 16th 
of July, 1808, Colonel Burr was in London. On his arrival, 
he was at once domesticated in the family of the Prevosts, the 
relatives of his late wife, and of Theodosia. 

On the very day wliich brought Colonel Burr within sight 
of the cliffs of Albion, Joseph Bonaparte entered Madrid as 
King of Si)ain. This was the first public news of importance 
that reacluHl London after Burr's arrival. lie must have 
heard the intelligence with dismay, for a man so acute as ho 
must have discerned that such an event was death, or long 
postponement, to his dearest hopes. 

He went to Europe with the design of laying before the 
cabinet of England, or the Emperor of France, his plans for 
the inde()endence of Mexico, and of procuring, at least, the 
authorization of one of them for carrying out his schemes of 
personal aggrandizement and elevation in that country. But 
Joseph Bonai)arte's assumption of the S])anish throne was 
})recisely the event, of all others conceivable, to absolutely 
close the cars of both govermnents to such an .application. 
England, before on ill terms with Spain, prom})tly took the 
part of the dethroned king, and sent the flower of her armies 
to the Peninsular war. England was publicly and irrevocar- 
bly committed to the cause of the exiled tnonarch, .and, of 
course, to the integrity of his dominions. To ask Napoleon's 
consent to the independence of Mexico would have seemed 
Homething like soliciting his consent to the partition of the 



r> U> LI F K v> F A V u o X K run. 

Frcnoli oinpivo. ^[oxioo \v;i$ part of tho kingdom which he 
ruled thriMigh his brother Joseph, ^lexioo w;vs his. If he 
had been disposed to give it away, an adventurer from tj\r off 
Ameriea wouKi not have been the selected recipient. A ninl- 
titude of poUtical cc<mbinations can be imagined which would 
have rendeied one or tlie other of the hostile governments an 
eager listener to the bl.uui and able representations of Aaron 
Burr. Unt'oitunately tor him, perhaps untortunately for ^tex- 
ico, atl^iirs took the turn which excluded his proj>os;vls even 
from CvM\sidet:^tion. 

Kut Uurr was not a man to yield without an effort. He 
piweeded immediately to business. He had interviews with 
Mr. Canning, Loid CiJ^tleveagh, Lord Mulgnne, ;uid many 
other otficial persons, to whom his plans were made known. 
He ivceived not the slightest eneounigement. One of his tirst 
letters to his daugliter annouivced, that "Mexico had been 
abiwdoned,"' "This certainly was inevitable," replied the 
tbnd Theodosia ; "but I Ci\n not part with what has so long 
lain near my heart, and not feel some ivgret, some sorrow. 
Xo doubt there are many other ixvids to happiness, but this 
appearcri so perlvctly suit,able to you, so complete a remune- 
rjition for all the p.ast, it so entirely coincided with my wishes 
relative to you, that I cherished it ;is my comfort, even when 
illnci^s scaively allowcvi me any hoj^ve of witnes^sing its e^^m- 
pletioiu My knowlevige of your character, however, consoles 
me gi*eatlv. You will not rem^iin idle. The situation in 
which you aix^ placed would excite ajvithy itselt* and your 
miuvl i\ee\is no external impulse," 

It A\-as not even certain that the adventuier would be per- 
mitted to ivs^ide in Englaitd. Alter a tew weeks of active ex- 
ertion in London, he received one day, ,^s he was leaving tor 
the country, a very pointed rv^»/f.ss? fix>ni Lord Hawkesbury, 
one. of the Secretaries of State, that he should prvsent himself 
tluthwvth at the Home OtHvV. He went. What trivnspired 
is not precisely known. But his right to live in England wjvs 
so seriously called in question, that he was driven to demcuul 
it on the gjvund that he w;is born, and still remained, a BrttUA 
j.«^/^W, l.^>r\i Hnwkesbury pronounced the claim monstrous. 



THE EXILE. 617 

But Burr was the betlor linvyor of the two, aiul know well 
the pt'culiaritios of Kritish laws rospooliuj;- oitizonshij). Tlio 
question puzzled llu> whole cabinet, was referred to the law 
otlieevs of the erown, and was some nionths in arrivinsx at set- 
tlenient. iMeanwhile, the claimant lived and wandered in En- 
gland at his pleasure. Such a claim, iVoni a man who had 
been for four years in arms against the King of England, and 
who had tilled the second office in that victorious republic, 
whose creation dismembered tlie IJrilish empire, was an amus- 
ing instance of Burr's lawyerly audacity.* 

Colonel liurr, then, was not a historical person in Europe, 
the great events of tiie time submerging his public schemers. 
Yet I think it worth while to narrate with some minuteness 
liis personal adventures in the old world, because many of 
them were highly curious and characteristic, and the narrative 
atVords ai\ occasional glimpse of the most, stirring time this 
century has known, 

Europe was in arms. Every human interest was subordi- 
nate to the gigantic Napoleonic wars. Napoleon was near 
tlic }>innacle of his greatness. During this very autunni, 
Burr's lirst season in Europe, the Frendi emperor was tho 
central ligure of that ilazzling congress of Ert'uilh, where ho 
and the Ozar Alexander met on the rati in the middle of the 
river, and vowed eternal tViendship, two armies looking on. 
Ballled England was still r«'solute to hurl the parvenu down. 
Before the year closed, Na{>oleon was in Spain, driving belbre 
him Sir .lohn Moore and the English army, in that terrible re- 
treat which Wolfe's song has niade familiar to posterity; and 
England had diplomatized a new coalition against the con- 
queror which summoned him from victory iu the Peninsula to 

* The most absurd reports of liis designs in P'ngland roaoliod Aniorion. 
JolVerson wrote, October lUli, 1808: "Burr is iu London, and is giving out 
to his G'iends that that goverunieut olYers hin» two milHous of dollars tho mo- 
ment he eau raise an ensign of rebellion as big as a handkerchief. Some of 
his partisans will believe this, because they wish it. But those who know 
him lH>st will i\ot believe it the more because he says it. For myself, even ir» 
lus n\os( Haltering period.s of the conspiracy, I never entertained one moment's 
fc:u-."' 



iilS LIFE OF AAKOX KUKK. 

/ 

victory more splendid on the Pannbe ; to viotoi'v Avliieh plaeed 
the Austrian empire at his u\eroy, and gave him the fatai iiand 
of ^[arie Louise. The breach between England and the Uni- 
ted States was widening, and tlie war of ISl- was casting its 
baleful shadow before. The Kritish attack on the American 
frigate C/}t'sa^h'aJ<\\ and the consequent en\bargo, were recent 
events. The passaiie bv Congress of the non-intercourse act 
was only one year distant. Comnmnication with every part 
of tlie world was ditticult, and traveling on the continent of 
Europe was obstructed, where it was not impossible. Puring 
the years of Colonel Burr's residence in Europe, no essential 
change occurred in the politics or the position of the great 
powers. The world was tilled with the noise of war. 

Burr's success in the society of the British metropolis may 
be called brilliant. The men best worth knowing were among 
his intimate friends ; and in the most exclusive circles he w.«v3 
a frequent and welcome guest. Ilis t^uue liad gone before 
him. He was sometimes introduced as " the celebrated Col- 
onel Burr." Ilis "affair with ILnnilton" was well known in 
London, .as were also liis recent high n\nk in the United States, 
l\is downt^ill, and his trial for treason. With many of the 
lugher oHicers of the governnient we tind him intimate during 
the whole period of his stay in Europe. He had the enfire 
of HoUanvi House, then the center of a brilliant opposition, 
and the resort of wit ai\d genius. He was intimate with the 
Earl of Bridgewater, son of the e;vrl tamous for his devotion 
to the canal system. G^nlwin was his frequent associate, to 
whom he owed an acquaintance with Charles Lamb. There 
is this too brief narration of Lainb in Burr's Diarv: "Agreed 
with !^[adame Godwin for rendezvous at Mr. Lamb's rooms. 
He is a writer, and lives with a maiden sister, also literture, in 
a fourth storv." Lamb was then but in his thirtv-third vear, 

• • • r 

and known only to a literary coterie. Faseli, the painter, was 
another of Burr's acquaintances in London. AVith the higher 
powei-s he had intinence enough, duiing his tii"st three months 
in England, to procure a midshipman's warrant for the son of 
a lady whom he wished to oblige. The reavler will, indeed, 
observe that into whatever city or country Colonel Burr went. 



THE BXILE. 519 

he took his ])lace at onco in its higlu'st circle, and associated 
chiolly \vii,h the i)00|)lo most truly cmiiioiU. Tliis was tlio 
case, too, when his lodgings were not, iianioahlc to West-End 
ears, when he lived u))()ii potatoi's, and was hmigry because 
his stock was gone, and his exi'Iu>quer, reduced to two half 
pence, could not ail'(,)rd a replenishment. 

Jeremy ]>entliam was Burr's dearest friend in Kngland, 
though it was only by accident that he became acquainted with 
him. Benlham was a man of fortune who devoted the leisure 
that wenlth confers to pursuits which dignily, if they do not 
justify, the })Ossession of inde|>endent wealth. TJie greatest 
happiness of the greatest rmmherwas a phrase which his youth- 
ful eye had caught from "the tail of one of Priestley's pam- 
phlets," and his lii(.> was spent in writing treatises which apjilied 
that principle to the laws and institutions of Stales.* The 
philoso[)her was now more than sixty yenrs old, but (so slow 
is the growth of a lasting fixme), his works were known only 
to the thoughtful few. Burr ixsed to say that no one in the 
United States appreciated Jeremy Benthain's ideas excej)t 
himself and Albert (lallatin. To Theodosia, in h:i])pier days, 
he had be(>n accustomed to speak of lientiiam ns " second to 
no man, ancient or modern, in profound thiidcing, in logicnl 
and ajialytic reasoning." The fortunate accident Avhich 
brought him into ])ersonal relations with his favorite author 
is rel:ited by ]\[. Dumont, who translated Benlham's Avorks 
into French. 

" I have met," wrote Dumont to Bentham, " with a person 
in London enjoying a celebrity which is soinewltat embarass- 

* "Jknitliam liiinseH', ami ovon (ho wood of Bontham, sooms to mo compar- 
atively worthy of pruiso. It is a dotGnninate beitig what all tlio woild, in a 
cowardly, hall-and-half matinor, was tending to bo. Let us luivo tlio crisis ; 
wo shall have eitlior death or tho cure. I call this gross stoani-engino utili- 
tarianism an approach toward new faith. It is a laying down of cant ; a 
sayiiiij; to one's self, ' "Well, thou, this world is a dead iron niaohino, tho pod 
of it Gravitation and soltl.sh ilunjior; lot us soo what, by chocking and bal- 
ancing, and good adjustment of tooth and pinion, can be made of it.' Ben- 
thanusn) has something complete, manful, in suoli fearless committal of itself 
to what it linds true; you may call it Heroic, though a Uoroism with its eyes 
put out." — CvULYLE : Heroes and Hero Worship. 



520 LIFE OF AARON BURR. 

ing to liim, and from which he has retreated into a capital two 
thousand leau'ues from liis home. This is Mr. Edwards in Lon- 
don ; in America, it was Mr. Burr. We met at dinner — ac- 
quaintance was soon established between us ; and as soon as 
he heard me named, he inquired with an air of surprise and 
of satisl'action, if I were the person to whom he was indebted 
for his acquaintance with the writings of ]>entham. He had 
read ' Principles,' and ' Usury,' and as soon as he saw the an- 
nouncement at Paris, had sent for sundry copies. He spoke 
of them with the strongest admiration — said they were the 
only works on legislation where there was philosophical 
method ; that, compared to these, Montesquieu's writings 
were trilling, etc. He added that, in spite of his recommen- 
dations, they were little read in America, where any thing 
requiring studious application is neglected. Nobody but Gal- 
latin had felt all their merit, and Gallatin was the best head 
in the United States. Mr. Burr was anxiously desirous of 
knowing the author — of passing a day with him ; this, said 
he, would be a satisfaction for the rest of his life. He passes 
all the autumn in England, but does not know how long be- 
yond. If you are disposed to receive him, whether in town 
or country, let me give him the happy news, and I think you 
will not be sorry you have seen him. You may tell me, his 
duel with Hamilton was a savage aifair ; but he has no desire 
whatever to break your head." 

Bentham, who was extremely susceptible to appreciation, 
made the desired response. Colonel Burr was invited to 
Barrow Green, near London, where the sage was then stay- 
ing, and " great," says Bentham's biographer, " was his joy 
on receiving the invitation." Bentham ordered a horse to be 
sent to London to convey him to the country, but Burr had 
provided a horse of his own. 

In Bentham's own reminiscences, we find only brief allusion 
to his intimacy with Burr. " I was brought acquainted," he 
says, " with Colonel Aaron Burr thus : he had given a gen- 
eral order to a bookseller to forward whatever books I should 
publish. I was then very little known. This was very good 
evidence of analogy between his ideas and mine. He came 



THE EXILE. 621 

here expecting this government to assist his endeavors in 
Mexico ; but the government had just then made up their 
quarrel with Spain, We met ; he was pregnant Avith interest- 
ing facts. He gave me hundreds of particnilars respecting 
Washington. In those days, I used to go to Oxstead, where 
there is a handsome gentleman's house, called Barrow Green, 
which was occupied by Koe's eldest brother. Burr went 
there with me ; and once, when I went to Barrow Green, I 
lent him my house in Queen Square Place, lie really meant 
to make himself emperor of Mexico. lie told me I should be 
the legislator, and he would send a ship of war for me. He 
gave me an account of his duel with Hamilton. He was sure 
of being able to kill him ; so I thought it little better than a 
murder. He seemed to be a man of prodigious intrepidity ; 
and if his project had failed in Mexico, he meant to set up 
for a monarch in the United States.* He said the Mexicans 
would all follow like a llock of geese," 

These tempernte words (written years after) give no idea 
of the warmth of their friendship. In a few days, we find 
Colonel Burr living at Bentham's house, on the most aflec- 
tionate terms with its master. His letters of this period are 
filled with allusions to his " great and good friend, Jeremy 
Bentham," of whom he seldom spoke but with enthusiasm. 
To Theodosia he said : " I am now writing in Mr. Bentham's 
room, and by his side. He wills it so, insisting that there is 
a sort of social inteicourse in sitting near, and looking now 
and then at one another, though we are separately and ever 
so intensely employed. It is certainly so." In another letter, 
he told Theodosia that " Mr. Bentham's countenance had all 
that character of intense thought which she would expect to 
find ; but it was impossible to conceive a physiognomy more 
strongly maiked with ingenuousness and philanthropy. He 
is about sixty, but cheerful even to playfulness." To Gov- 
ernor Alston, he wrote: "He is, indeed, the most perfect 
model that I have seen or imagined of moral and intellectual 
excellence. 11^ is the most intimate friend I have in this coun. 

* The old gentleman's memory was at fault here. 



b22 LIFE OF AARON BURR. 

ti-y, and my constant associate." To Mrs. Prevost : " He must 
be dead a hundred years before lie will be known ; and then 
he will be adored." 

Burr made every body whom ho loved love his daughter ; 
and so we soon see Bentham sending a set of his " combusti- 
bles" (works) to "ray dear little Theodosia." She read them 
with delisfht. She caught her father's enthusiasm. One of 
the books, as yet, existed only in the French language, and 
Theodosia, in that graceful manner which invested all she did 
with a peculiar charm, solicited the privilege of translating 
it into English. The sage was enchanted, atvd the translation 
was begun. 

It is evident that Colonel Burr stood very high in Ben- 
th^n's regard. John Bowring, Bentham's biographer, says 
that the philosopher, in consequence of his communication 
M'ith Colonel Burr, seemed seriously resolved on taking up his 
abode for some years on the table-lands of Mexico, and was 
only dissuaded by the extreme difficulty of getting there, and 
the representations of his friends. Bentham quaintly makes 
this project known to Lord Holland in a letter, dated October 
31, 1808 : " I feel myself," he wrote, "so pinched by the cold 
of our English winters, that a great part of the time that 
Avould otherwise be employed in driving the quill, is consumed 
in thinking of the cold, and endeavoritig, but in vain, to keep 
off that unpleasant sensation without bringing on worse. But 
is there no heat in fire ? Yes ; but as it comes from our En- 
glish fire-places, such is the heat, as neither my eyes, nor other 
parts about me, are able to endure. Between eyes and feet, 
perpetual quarrel about heat ; feet never can have enough, 
eyes never little enough — a new edition of the old parable 
of the members. Mexico, from a variety of authorities, pri- 
vate, as well as public, I have learned to consider as affording 
a climate by which all such differences would be kept at rest. 
Temperature just what any body pleases. If you want it 
warmer, you go doioji a few hundred yards ; if cooler, you go 
up."' 

That so cordial a feeling should have existed between two 
men who, in some particulars, were as complete contrasts as the 



THE EXILE. 523 

world could furnish, may Avell excite our surprise. In the 
very letter to Lord Holland just quoted, Bentham truly de- 
scribes himself as " completely disqualified for every thing that 
in French is called Intrigue, or in English Politics." He was 
also so absent-minded as scarcely to be trusted in the streets 
alone. An instance of this intirraity used to be related by 
Colonel Burr, with a keen relish of its absurdity. Tiie phi- 
losopher and himself were walking one day in Hy<Je Park, en- 
gaged in grave discourse upon subjects of high import, when, 
suddenly, the voice of Bentham ceased. Burr looked up. 
The sage stopped, mused a moment, turned upon his heel, and 
without one word of explanation, broke into a kind of gentle 
trot, and trotted homeward, never once looking back to his 
deserted companion. Burr gazed after him with wonder, but 
soon guessing the cause of this curious proceeding to be an 
" idea," merely, he continued his walk alone, and, in the course 
of an hour or two, went home to Bentham's house. He met 
the philosopher quite as usual, and neither Bentham nor him- 
self ever alluded to the occurrence. Burr said that any one 
who should meet Bentham without knowing who he was, 
would have supposed him to be " a little touched in his upper 
story." 

Bentham himself seems to have been struck by the oddity 
of such a friendship, and scarcely knew what to make of it. 
" I do believe," he wrote to Burr, at the end of one of the 
three-sheeted letters he used to send to him occasionally, "I 
do believe, that of the regard you have all along professed for 
me, no inconsiderable part is true. But a man must have his 
' eyes well about him, when he has to deal with leaders of fac- 
tions and professed men-catchers." And again : " To know 
that you were in any situation that could turn talents such as 
yoiirs to the beneiit of any considerable part of mankiiul would 
aftbrd me the most heartfelt pleasure. In any other I should 
have said, on the opposite expectation, I can not even profess 
to give you any good wishes. For the trade o^ throat-cutting 
I can not see any openings. Cahbage-jilanting would be bet- 
ter, if, haply, any ground were to be got for it." Bentham's 
letters to Burr were gossipy and rambling, and amazingly 



624 LIFE OF A A K O N B U R K . 

long- — equivalent, some ot" ihom, to litteon or twenty pages 
of foolscap. 

Bentham never knew of Colonel Burr's peeuniary straits 
Two or three years later, when he was reduced to the last ex- 
tremity of indigoneo, he never breathed a syllable of his cir- 
cumstanees to Jeremy Uentham, who was then himself tem- 
porarily embarrassed, lie visited the sage as usual, but could 
not tell him, as he did Godwin, the secret of his squalid lodg- 
ings. But this is anticipating. 

For the present, Colonel Burr passed his time pleasantly 
enough. Tt was the era of mechanical inventions. The dream 
of the day was to do what Fulton had recently done, revolu- 
tionize a new branch of industry by u new application of 
steam. The memoirs and letters of that period, show it to 
have been the fashion to take an interest in things mechani- 
cal. Burr, besides the interest, which a man so intelligent as 
he could not but feel in the inventions of the time, had the 
idea that by some lucky hit of the kind he might retrieve his 
own fortunes. The n\ansion of the Earl of Bridgewater was 
then the resort of men with mechanical ideas, and we find 
Colonel Burr staying there a week at a time listening to their 
expositions. He confesses that he found it a bore. But it 
became the possible emperor of Mexico to understand the 
canal system, and he forced himself to attend, and to make 
the remarks expected of him. On one occasion, he speaks of 
going out of his way to see the new railroad, on which he be- 
lield with wonder, four horses draw forty-tour tons oi' mer- 
chandise, (^no night he was sleepless with an idea of improv- 
ing the steam engine.* 



* The following letter from Samuel Swartwout (who was sUso in London) 
to Bvirr, is worth inserting on nianv accounts. It is from tlio valuable auto- 
graph eolloction of F. J. Preer, Esq., of Pliih^delphia, to whoso courtesy I am 
indebted for permission to copy it. The letter is dated Loudon, Thui-sday, 
•JOth Augusts ISOS, and is addressed to "Colonel Burr, at Mr. Benthtuu's, 
Barrow Green." 

" Pear Sir: I c;^lled yesterday at Mr. Smith's lodgings;, Gn?at Marlborough- 
street, but he Wiis not in town. I left your letter with my address, request- 



THK KXTLK. 525 

He led an active life. We catch glimpses of liim, in his 
swift diary, rushing from office to office ; " walking lilty 
miles" to find a suitable present ibr " Gampillo ;" dining with 
" the ladies of Holland House ;" going to the play with the 
Godwins; talking politics with licntham ; expounding Mexico 

ing to know when I should seo him. ] liavo Iicard nothing sinco. I sliall 
call again to-day. 

'•I havo had a long conversation this morning with a young gentleman, a 
partner with Strong & Davis, Now York, who has come over on business for 
lliom, in tlio last packet. IIo knows you. TTis n.amo is Jolin Mills. Tii tlio 
course of conversation ho mentioned tliat tlio article of cotlon ha(j'jm<j, wiiich 
is prohibited by tiie late law of the United States, is, in the soutiiern States, 
and in tlie Territories of Orleans and Mississippi, a dollar a yard. TTero it may 
be bouglit for 6d sterling. Pray, could not a quantity, say, 200,000 yards, 
be sent from this country to Mobile or St. Mary's ; and thence got into the 
islands and Territories by smuggling? If your knowledge of the ground on- 
ablcs you to manage such a speculation, perliaps it miglit be accomplished. 
The immense advance in this article, and its being one of the specially pro- 
hibited articles, which, in case the embargo is raised will but increase in 
price, encourages me to hope tliat some great speculation might be made in 
it. Mr. Mills was lately in Cliarloston, wlicre ho purciiased a quantity of 
cotton at 13 cents — nearly 500 bales — and ho says the planters will not be 
able to put up their next crop for want of bagging. Tlie price is now GOO per 
cent, above tlie cost here, and the expenses of transportation — and in case 
the embargo should be taken ofl', the demand for cotton and the want of bag- 
ging — will raise it perhaps double what it now is. The immense profit can 
not be doubted. 

" "Would the hazard be greater, or so^reat, in any other part of the United 
States ? 

" Would not tlie collector at Now Orleans let a schooner in with 200,000 
yards on board for a couple or three thousand guineas? St., Mary's, I think, 
would bo another charming place to try it. Tlie cost of a wliolo ship-load, or 
of 200,000 yards, would bo only four to live thousand pounds. A tliousand 
or twelve hundred pounds more, would fit out the vessel, and if she succeeded 
in getting safe into port and in selling lier cargo, tiio profits would be im- 
mense — 600 per cent. This laid out in cotton there, at the present low price, 
would make another 100 per cent. — so that in all it would be one of the 
greatest speculations ever made"; if, as said, it could bo elTectod. 

" Have the goodness to let me know by return of the mail, what you think 
of my wild scheme. I inclose a letter and two cards which will explain 
themselves. 

" Ever affectionately and devoterlly yours, 

" S. SWARTWOUT " 



526 LIFK OF AARON BURK. 

to men whom the next ehanire of ministers mioht brino; into 
power; iinilergoing tortures wilh his peruke; writing hxw- 
papers in support of his claim to be considered a British sub- 
ject ; reading- all literature, from Milton on Divorce to the 
last French farce ; conversing with all men, from cabinet min- 
isters to barbers; gallanting all women, from duchesses to 
chambermaids. 

Theodosia was languishing, meanwhile. In Xovember camo 
eloquent, melancholy letters flom her to her father. Sarato- 
ga, whither she had gone atler his departure, had not relieved 
her depressing complaint. The failure of her father's plans, 
the uncertainty of his future, and, in particular, the non-pay 
ment of a large sun\ of money due him in New York, on which 
he depended, racked her noble heart with anxiety. "Return 
to me," she cried to him across the sea, " or tell me that you 
are engaged in a pursuit worthy of you." " O, my guardian 
angel, why were you obliged to abandon me just when en- 
feebled nature doubly required your care ! IIow otlen, when 
my tongue and haiuls trembled with disease, have I besought 
Heaven either to reunite us, or let me die at once. Yet do 
not hence imagine that I yield to infantine lamentations or im- 
patience. As soon as relief frona pain restored me in some 
measure to myself, I became more worthy the happiness of 
being your daughter." She speaks of her return to New 
York for the whiter, and adds: ''^[y situation will not have 
the charms we supposed. Indeed, I tind that your presence 
threw a luster on every thing around you. Every tiling is 
gayer, more elegant, more pleasant, where you are." But 
this was not all the reason why " dear New York," as she 
sometimes called the home of her happy childhood, was no 
longer agreeable to her. The daughter had to share the 
father's odium, though that daughter was the lovely and ac- 
complished Mrs. Alston. " The world,'' she wrote, "begina 
to cool terribly around me. You would be surprised how 
wany I supposed attached to me have abandoned the sorry- 
losing game of disinterested friendship." One regrets to 
see at the end of such letters the signature of ''Mary Ann 
Edwards," and "" dear brother" at the beginning ; " X'' for 



THE EXILE. C27 

Mexico, and " 60" for Aaron Burr. But she was obliged to 
write so. 

Tlie father's anxiety was aroused. lie consulted tlie most 
celebrated physicians of London, who seconded the thouglit 
his wish had Catherod, in recommending a voyage; to Kurojie 
for the sick lady. Burr's heart was instantly set upon his 
daughter's joining him. Preparations were made for her re- 
ception with his usual promptness. At every port where she 
could possibly land measures were taken against her arrival. 
Bentham offered her his house. Gen(!ral Sir Samuel Bcnlham, 
brother of the author, was to take " (iampilius" home to bo 
educated with his own children, whom Burr declared to be 
the best brought up of all the children he had ever known. 
The most minute directions were forwarded to Theodosia re- 
specting the voyage, and the course to be pursued on landing. 
To travel post fi'om Falmouth to London, he tells her, will 
cost twenty-live guineas; but the canal boats from Liverpool 
have neatly-furnished rooms with fire-places, and go forty or 
fifty miles a day for less than lialf the expense of travel by 
land. lie writes to Governor Alston to insure his consent to 
the voyage, and offering to [)ay half the ex|)ensc out of his 
slender means ; for planters were then embarrassed. Ilis care 
and forethought for her were, indeed, all that the most aifec- 
tionate of fithers could bestow upon the most beloved of 
daucrhters. In one of his letters to her, written about this 
time, there is a touching passage. He is telling her that he 
is always in danger of being too late with his letters for Am- 
erica. " My letters to others," he adds, " are always ready ; 
but toward yow, a desire to say something at the last moment; 
a reluctance resembling that of parting — but all this you 
know and feel." 

His project was never carried out. As the winter drew on, 
her disease took a favorable turn, and the proposed voyage 
was given up. llow much" better it might have been for both 
father and child if they had come together then ! In the 
spiing she went home to South Carolina, whence three times 
the climate had driven her. "I would not have tried a fourth 
experiment of the kind upon a dog," wrote Colonel Burr in 



628 LIFE OF AARON BURR. 

Avrath when he heard the news. Her health, however, waa 
permanently improved, and his fears were never realized. 

Colonel Burr lived in London nearly six months. He was 
in doubt what to do, or whither to go. To stay in Europe 
seemed useless; yet nothing had occurred to tempt him home. 
His desires pointed homeward, and he seems to have hoped 
to return ere long. Meanwliile, lie resolved on making the 
grand tour of the kingdom, and on the morning of December 
the 22d, 1808, he set out on his journey northward in the Ox- 
ford coach. 

The page of his diary in which he describes his departure 
from the metropolis and his adventures on the road to Oxford, 
may serve as an illustration of his mode of journalizing. He 
was too late for the coach, but pursued and overtook it. He 
continues: — " Found in it one man. Having preserved per- 
fect silence for a few minutes, by way of experiment, 1 re- 
marked that the dav was verv mild, which he flatly denied, 
and in a tone and manner as if he would have bit me. I 
lauglied out heartily, and very kindly inquired into his morn- 
ing's adventures. He was old, gouty, and very fat, No hack 
being to be had at that early hour, or, what is more probable, 
choosing to save the shilling, he had walked from his house to 
the inn, had follen twice, got wet and bruised, and was very 
sure that he should be laid up with the gout for six months. 
I sympathized with his misfortunes. Wondered at the com- 
placency with which he bore them, and joined him in cursing 
the weather, the streets, and the hackney coachmen. He be- 
came complacent and talkative. Such is John Bull. "We took 
in another fat man, a woman still fatter, and a boy. After- 
ward, a very pretty, graceful, arch-looking girl, about eighteen, 
going on a visit to her aunt, Lady W, But mademoiselle was 
reserved and distant. At the first change of horses she agreed 
to take breakfast, which we did, tete-a-tete. I was charmed 
to find her all animation, gayety, ease, badinage. By the aid 
of drink to the coachman, our companions were kept three 
quarters of an hour cooling in the coach. They had break- 
fasted. When we joined them the reserve of ray little siren 
returned. After various fruitless essays, and at first without 



THE EXILE. 529 

suspecting the cause, fituling it impossible to pi-ovoke any thing 
beyond a cold monosyllable, I composed myself to sleep, and 
slept soundly about eight hours, between London and Oxford, 
where we arrived at eight this evening. (There must be some- 
thing narcotic in the air of this island. I have slept more du- 
ring my six months' residence in Great Biitain than in any 
preceding three years of my life since the age of fourteen.) 
Took leave of my little Spartan. Mem. — To write an essay, 
historical and critical, on the education and treatment of wo- 
men in England. Its influence on morals and happiness." 

Pie remained a day or two at Oxford, receiving the requi- 
site attentions from residents to whom he had brought letters. 
He thought "every thing there was more for ostentation than 
for use." At a dinner given him by one of the Oxonians he 
agitated the serene atmosphere of the place by praising Ben- 
tham. The mention of that name was enough to revive in- 
terest in all the great, dividing subjects. Burr found his 
Oxford friends prepared to concede Bentham's greatness as a 
legislator, but not as a moralist ; whereas he extolled his 
morality and benevolence above all things. The discussion, it 
appears, grew warm. The subject of divorce came up, Burr 
defending Bentham's opinions. Religion was discoursed of, 
Burr arguing against the Gospel according to Oxford. " We 
then," he says, "got upon American politics, geography, etc., 
on all of Avhich a most profound and learned ignorance was 
displayed. The evening wound up pleasantly, and we parted 
with many expressions of courtesy." Of his entertainer on 
this occasion, he adds this remark : " Though he speaks of 
Benthani with reverence, and, probably, prays for him, I pre- 
sume that he thinks he will be eternally damned, and I have 
no doubt he expects to be lolling in Abraham's bosom with 
great complacency, hearing Bentham sing out for a drop of 
water. Such is the mild genius of our holy religion." 

Continuing his journey northward, he is entertained on the 
road to Birmingham by " a pretty little comely brunette," 
who had read ah the novels and seen all the lions, and whose 
rank he puzzled himself in vain- to determine. At length they 
put her down at a respectable farm house, Burr handed her 

23 



680 LIFE OF AAKON BURK. 

in, was introduced to the family as a "gontloman who had 
boon oxtronioly i>olito to nio on tho road," and was warmly 
prossod to stay, and to call on his return. Such an easy power 
had this man to ingratiate hin\self with the fair. lie wont to 
Stratford to see the tomb ot' Sluikespearo, eonoernino; whieh 
visit ho only remarks, that the bai'-niaid g'avo him a very de- 
tailed aecount of the late Shakespearean jubilee. At IVirming- 
hani he enters in his diary some n\ysterious hints of a gay 
street adventure whieh cost him twenty-eight shillings, for 
which he tells Theodosia ho atoned by taking a cheap outside 
place to Kdinburg, instead of a dear inside one. 

At Kdinburg, where ho remained a month, his life v>-as a 
ceaseless round ot' gavetv. His London letters and his own 
colobritv combined to insure him a welcome among tho elite 
of the society at the Scottish capital. 

At Kdinburg, then a place of brilliant intellect and easy vir- 
tue, Colonel Burr was a drawing-room and dinner-table lion. 
Parties, balls, assemblies, dinners, plays, succeeded one another. 
Kdinburg, he said, was the nuvst social and hospitable place 
he had over soon: they meet to amuse and to be amused, and 
they succeed, lie gave hijusolf up to the enjoyments of the 
hour to a degree not usual with him. He told Bentham, to 
M'hom ho wrote nearly every day, that in his present '■"state 
of nullity," ho wished to bo forgotten by all his fiieuds, till he 
could " rise to view" in a form worthy of their hopes. For a 
moT\th, business was forgotten. 

With tlie legal and the literary magnates of the town he 
soon became intimate. INIackonzio, author of the " I\[an of 
Feeling," was then at the height of his reputation, and Walter 
Scott was in the Jfartfu'on period ot' his literary career. "I 
met both tVequently," wrote Hurr to Theodosia, "and tVom 
both received civilities and hospitalities. Mackenzie has 
twelve children ; six daughters, all very interesting, and two 
verv handsome. He is remarkablv sprightly in companv 
amiable, witty ; might pass for forty-eight, though certainly 
much older. Scott, with loss sothioss than ^Mackenzie, has 
still more animation ; talks much, and very agreeably. May 
be about forty." He iound warn\ friends among the lawvera 



TIIK KXILK. 6.31 

and jndgos of EdiiibnrG^, with somo of whom lio conlinuod to 
conospond for years alter. At oiu; dinner [tarty, coniiiosed 
chiefly of legal gentlemen, ho spoko so convincingly in praise 
of IJentham, that most of tlu; company took a list of his 
Avorks on the spot. Ho was the champion of Bentham whero- 
evcr he went. He wrote to the jihilosopher : "WhenTlind 
a man who knows nothing of yon, whit;!! (with blushes be it 
said) has sometimes ha})pened, T pity him ; but when one, 
])reten(ling a knowledge of your works, uses ' very able, very 
ingenious,' or any such trite epithets, I hate him, and am dis- 
])OS('d to (piarrel.'" 

'I'his montJi in Mdinburg was the most triumphant, if not the 
liappiest, period of (Colonel liurr's long residcMuu; in Kuropo. 
Besides being " loaded with civilities" there, Ik! heard that 
Cobbett,* " deeply impregnated with tlu; magnitude of liis 
talents as a statesman and soldier," was consulting with otlxM' 
friends in London how the ex-Viee-l*resi(lent of the United 
States could be brought into the British I'arliainent. Bentliam 
shook his more sagacrious head, liowever. Ho thought the 
oath of allegiance taken by Burr to the American govern- 
ment was a circumstance fatal to the project ; which, indeed, 
was n(n'er more than talked of. 

From the gayeties of ICdinburg, Coloncil Burr was unex- 
pectedly summoned by letters from London, whieh gave him 
a, gleam of hope. Back Ik- Hies to London at the beginning 
of F(!bruary, and is at once imnu^rsod in " X,'s ad'airs." We 
find him soon closeted with Lord Molvilh;, a m:m famous in 
the politi(!S of that day, who had expressly, and unsolicittKl, 
invited Coloncd Burr to his house for the purpose of learning 
more of his plans. The interview was long, and agreeable to 
both. " Lord Melviikf," said Burr, afterwanl, " is a man I 
understand, an<l by whom I could be understood." Nothing 
of importance, however, c;.ime of the intervi(!W, or could come 
of an intervi(!W with any man in Kuro])e, while European af- 
fairs remainctd as they were ; and the decisive change was still 
five years distant. Ti-ansient, indeed, was this revival of his 
dream. To March, Burr wrote that lie saw clearly that hid 
* CoUicit had been a friend of Burr's in tho United Statoa 



632 L I F E O F A A K O N BURR. 



longer stay in Europe was useless, an^l announced his inten- 
tion to return to Anverioa at\er tl\e arrival of the next paeket. 
The packet came, but still the adventurer lingered. 

It was in these days that he caught his tirst glimpse of that 
demon of Impecuniosity, which afterward haunted him so per- 
tinaciously, and which he battled with such indomitable g;iY- 
ety and spirit. He had bought some books for Governor 
Als(on ot' a London bookseller, the remittance for the pay- 
ment of which had not arrived, and Burr was threatened with 
arrest tor the amount. But his exchequer was running low. 
(The very passage-money v,hich brought him to Englan<l was 
borrowed from Dr. Hosack, who accompanied Hamilton to the 
scene of the duel.) A month ago he had told Theodosia, in 
his dark manner, that " 59 was not imtnediately wanted, 
though the want of hi'm had prevented an experiment he 
wished to make in X.*s affairs;" a communication which be- 
comes intelligible when we substitute the word monci/ for 
*' 50." But the payment of such a sum as two hundred 
pounds was out of the question. lie accordingly removed his 
residence from the hospitable house of Jeremy Bentham to 
lodgings much more obscure, and changed his name to Kiiby. 
*' The benevolent heart of J. B.," s;\id Burr in his diary, *' shall 
never be wrung by the spectacle of Gamp's arrest." The .at- 
l^vir was compromised soon after, and " Gamp" was never 
arrested /or debt. 

Early in the following month occurred an event which 
obliged hiin to come to a very prompt decision with regard 
to his future course. Cobbett must have smiled when he 
heard o( it, and thought of his consultation with Bentham 
upon the practiciibility of getting Burr into Parliament. 



CHAPTER XXVIIT. 

EXPULSION FROM GREAT BRITAIN, AND RESIDENCE IN 

SWEDEN. 

His Akuest — OoMrF.i.i.i-.n to Lkave Tins Countuy — Letter to LonD LiVEnpooL — 
Sails fob Swkden — Aimuval in Stookiioi.m — IIis Kesidence in 8tookuolm — 
Ills Imi'kessions of Sweden — Pleasant Incident. 

It was the 4th of April, 1809. Mr. "Kirby" had been for 
soino weoks in his new locli!;ings. Certain indications of his 
being under suri^cillance liad not cscai)ed his notice, and a 
vague sense of ini[)(Miding disaster liad oppressed liini at times. 
The feeling grew so strong that, on the morning of the day 
above named, he resolved to remove to another part of the 
town. lie had packed up his clothes and papers, and was 
about to seek other apartments, when he was sui'prised by the 
entiance, unannounced, and without knocking, of four coarse- 
looking men, who bluntly informed him that they had a war- 
rant for his arrest, and for the seizure of his papers. He 
asked to see the warrant. They refused to show it. lie pe- 
remptorily demanded to know by whose authority they acted. 
Upon this, they produced the warrant, and permitted him to 
glance over it, but not to read it through. He saw that it was 
signed lAverpool^ the name of the premier. He was a pris- 
oner of state. 

The men took possession of his trunks, ransacked the room 
for ))apers, and tJirew all that they found, with all other loose 
articles, into a sack. Then, callhig a coach, they conveyed the 
jirisoner and his property to the alien office, the head of which, 
Mr. John Reeves, was oiie of Colonel Bm'r's most intimate 
friends. The prisoner, refusing to leave the carriage, sent in- 
rt note to ]Mr. Reeves, stating what had occurred, and asking 
an explanation. No answer for an hour. It was a cold after- 
noon, and the prisoner grew impatient. He sent another 



5?-4 LIFK OF AAKOX PrKK. 

iiv^io urgonily roquostiiig Koovos tv> oon\o to the oarriago, aiul 
sp:uo him the luortitiontioii of ontoritig the ot^loe as ;\ prisoner. 
^Ir. Koeves appearecl. but he could give no explanation, ai\d, 
at\or advising the prisoner to be ^^atient, ivfintered the offioe. 
Atter another half hour of waiting, orders came for him to bo 
taken to the house of a Mr. Hughes, one of the government 
messengei-s, who w.^s to be ivsponsible for his s;\fe-keeping. 
Cpon hearing this, Colonel Burr alighted, and went to the 
otlioe of one of the under seci>etariess in the sc\me building, 
bent on discovering the cause :uid motive of his arrest. But 
neither the under secretary nor any o( the clerks would re- 
coiTuize him ; though. s;ivs Burr to Theodosia, *' ever\- devil 
of then\ knew me as well ;is I know you." He s:\w that his 
detention was a thing resolved upon, and not to be avoided, 
and submitted with a good grace. About four o'clock in the 
afternoon, he drove away to his temporary prison, at Xo. SI 
Statibrd Place, leaving his etlccts at the alien otlice. to be ex- 
amined by the authorities at their leisure. 

He dined agreeably enough, with the messenger .and his 
pretty yoimg wite, and afterward read the only two leadable 
books in the Ivouse, the plav of the Secret, anvi the Airricola 
of Tacitus, Then, discovering that his polite jailor played 
chesss, he s;\t down with him to the g:\me, and played till the 
man was almost crared with excitement. Towani morning, 
he wivte in his diary a brief history of the day's adventures 
and went to bed. 

The next day. no change. Xo one was permitted to see 
him. He w:is anxious only on account of his papei"s ; not, he 
averred. Wcause tlune were any plots or treasons in them, but 
because of his *' ridiculous journal." and his peculiar corre- 
spondence. Chess again with Hughes till the sm:vll houi-s of 
the morning. 

On the third day, an official summons came from the alien 
otiice : whither, at ten o'clock in the morning, the prisoner was 
conducted. Lord Liverpool divl not appear, but sent an apol- 
ogy and a mes*;\ge. The apology related to his sudden and 
nnceren\onious arrest ; the mess:>ge, couched in the blandest 
terms, as dis;\greeable mess^^ges frequently are, was to. the 



RESIDENCE IN SWEDEN. 536 

<ff(!ot that the presence of Colonel Burr in Great Britain was 
embarrassing to liis majesty's government, and that it was the 
wish and expectation of the govertmient that he should remove, 
A disposition was professed to treat him with pcirsonal respect 
and court(!sy. Passports should be furnished; a free passage 
to any port where British ships miglit go, was tendered ; but 
the request for his prompt departure was decided. Burr, as- 
tonished, desii-ed to l>e informed of the r(!jisf)ris of tliis extra- 
oi-dinary con(iuet. In what had lie oflended ? What was 
the purpose of his banishrnejit ? To all such questions, neither 
then, nor ever, was any answer whatever vouchsafed. 

Burr attributed this summary measure to a desire on the 
part of the P]nglish cabinet to conciliate, by one easy and in- 
expensive act, the American governnumt and the Spanisli 
Juntas. He said, in a letter written just after his arrest: 
" Mr. Jefferson, or the Spanish Juntas, or probably both, 
hav(! liad influence enough to drive me out of this country." 
I*erhaps this suj)position was correct, and it derives probabil- 
ity ii-om the faot that ])u])licity was inuncdiatcly given to the 
whole transaction in the newspapers. I'lieodosia first lieard 
of her father's expulsion from Great Britain through the news- 
papers, thougli lie wrote to her by every ship. Yet the rea- 
son assigned by Lord Liverpool was sufficient, in those days, 
to account for the step. His presence must have been emhar- 
rassing in the extreme. Here was an erratic, mysterious per- 
son, known to have revolutionary political designs, an object 
of suspicion to two governments, both of winch Great Britain 
wished to propitiate ; an able, efficient man, moving in the 
highest circles, changing his name without apparent cause, 
concealing his residence, and vailing all his movements in 
silence and ciphers. An embarrassing person truly, particu- 
huly in times so critical. Who could tell what schemes were 
revolving in that active brain ? Lord Liverpool, had there 
been no Mr. JefTerson to- soothe and no Juntas to mollify 
might have felt the presence of such a man embarrassing. 

Colonel Burr at once signified his willingness to comply 
with the " wish and expectation" of the government. In ex- 
plaining the reason of his ready acquiescence, he used to say 



586 LIFE OF AARON BURE. 

that it would have boon easy for Inin to set the goveninieTit at 
defiance, and to maintain his residence ; but the political situ- 
ation of the United States and Great Britain, and some pri- 
vate considerations, induced him to comply. He was then set 
at liberty, and his eftects were i-estored to him uninjured. 

But whither to go ? Tliis question was much discussed be- 
tween Colonel Burr and the government. A formal letter 
written by him to Lord Liverpool upon the subject may be in- 
troduced here in continuance of the narrative. The writing 
of this epistle seems to have cost him an etfort. He told Jer- 
emv Bentham that when he sat down to write it, and essaved 
to begin, '"■ My lord," his pen stuck in his lingers. " I tried 
in vain, but could not get it out ; so I adopted the stitf, dip- 
lomatic third person. J/}/ lady or /u's loi-dship does not stick 
in my savage throat ; but my lord — the liOrd deliver me!'' 
The letter to Lord Liverpool, dated April 20th, ISOO, was as 
follows : 

" Mr. Burr's respectful compliments. He lately received 
from Lord Liverpool an intimation that his (Mr. Burr's) pres- 
ence was embarrassing to his majesty's government, and that 
it was the wish and the expectation of the government that 
he would remove. Without insisting on those rights which, 
as a natural-born subject, he miuht leuallv assert ; without 
permitting himself to inquire whether the motives to the or- 
der were personal or political, or whether the apprehensions 
expressed were real or factitious, and without adverting to 
the unprovoked indignities which had preceded the order, or 
to tlie personal inconveniences whiclv it would impose on him, 
Mr. Burr at once expressed his determination to gratify the 
wishes of the government by withdrawing. It being under- 
stood that he could not, consistently with his personal safety, 
visit any country under the control or influence of France, 
Sweden was thought the most proper asylum ; and the gen- 
tleman who spoke in his lordship's name, having represented 
Heligoland ;\s a place wlience passages to Sweden could read- 
ily be found, Mr. Burr, relying on this assurance, assented to 
that voyage, aiul passports were made out accordingly. But 
it is now ascertained that this assurance was predicated in 



RESIDENCE IN SWEDEN. 537 

error ; that there is, in fact, no direct communication between 
Heligohind and any part of Sweden, and tliat no such passage 
could probably be found within many months. Under such 
ciicumstances, Mr. Burr presumes that Lord Liverpool will 
permit the destination to be changed to Gottenburg, and will 
have the goodness to direct passports to be made for that 
port. He has reason to believe that the minister of his Swed- 
ish majesty to this court will not object." 

The point was yielded. The Swedish minister, so far from 
objecting, took pains to secure him a friendly reception in 
Sweden. On the 24th of April he sailed from Harwich in the 
packet, which, in six days, bore him to Gottenburg, a Swedish 
port three hundred miles from Stockholm. He was soon es- 
tablished in lodgings which, he said, were " commodious," 
with the single exception that not a soul in the house spoke 
one word of any language with which he was acquainted. 

He experienced the usual exhilaration of being for the first 
time in a foreign country, and sallied eagerly forth to see the 
town. He found his way to the theater, where he understood 
not a word, but was "amused by two young girls in boy's 
clothes, tight pantaloons and short waistcoats, who played ad- 
mirably" in the pantomime. He adds in his swift, brief way : 
"Out at ten. Got home, but could not make my host under- 
stand that I wanted a dish of tea. After laboring in vain for 
a cpiarter of an hour, was obliged to take him out to the house 
of a Frenchman, who spoke Swedish, and who explained for 
us. Tea was got very cheerfully. A long pipe and tobacco." 

In a few days he left Gottenburg for Stockholm, where he 
intended to reside during his stay in Sweden. He reached 
the capital late in the evening of the 11th of May, and find- 
ing the inns full, was indebted to a fellow traveler for getting 
him a room in the house of a mechanic in an alley near the 
Exchange. 

The next day, on presenting some of his letters, he received 
in superfluity all those attentions which a stranger in a strange 
land requires. He was soon established as an inhabitant of 
Stockholm ; and played with his usual easy grace the part of 
the Distinguished Guest in its highest circles. It is a proof 

23^ 



I* 



538 LIFE OF AAnON" BURR, 

of the facility with which he made his way in society, that 
before he had been in Stockholm a week, he was dining mag- 
nificently with the most exclusive club in the kingdom, and 
was running about the city trying to boi-row a cocked hat and 
sword to wear on his presentation at court. His mastery of 
the French stood him in good stead here. An officer of rank, 
at one of his early parties in Stockholm, told him that he 
spoke French better than English, and asked him which of the 
European languages the language of the Americans most re- 
sembled ? Burr's cool audacity was shown at another grand 
dinner party, where, on being asked for a toast, he gave, The 
Royal Prisoners, meaning the exiled royal fimily of Spain. 
This was for the Spanish embassador, who was present, and 
who, says Burr, received the toast with exquisite sensibility, 
and was moved even to tears. lie passed his time chiefly in 
society, his only serious employments being the study of the 
Swedish laws and the learning of the language. He was al- 
most severed from his former life. There was with him his 
young friend and coadjutor, Hosack (younger brother of Dr. 
Hosack) who came with him from London, but they resided 
apart. Once in Stockholm lie was agreeably reminded of his 
country by learning that two American captains and a young 
American traveler were in the city, and wished to meet him. 
The five Americans dined together, " il 1' Americaine, on beef- 
steaks, fish, and potatoes." Once, he conceived suddenly the 
idea of returning to America and establishing himself at 
Charleston, near Theodosia ; but second thoughts condcTnned 
the idea. Occasionally, but not nearly as often as before, he 
received letters from his daughter. She had no good news to 
cheer him with. She tells him of her continued disappoint- 
ment with regard to the receipt of the money which he had 
meant for his support in Europe. She was " stunned" upon 
hearino: of his "removal from EnMand," and could not enough 
admire the gay fortitude of his demeanor under circumstan- 
ces, the mere contemplation of which racked her soul with 
anxiety. These are her words : 

" The accumulated difficulties which pour in upon ns would 
absolutely overwhelm any other being than yourself Indeed, 



KBSIDENCE IN SWEDEN. 539 

I witness your extraordinary fortitude with new wonder at 
every new misfortune. Often, after reflecting on this subject, 
you appear to me so superior, so elevated above all other men ; 
I contemplate you with such a strange mixture of humility, 
admiration, reverence, love, and pride, that very little super- 
stition would be necessary to make me worship you as a su- 
perior being : nuch enthusiasm does your character excite in 
me. When I afterward revert to myself, hoAV insignificant do 
my best qualities appear. My vanity would be greater if I 
had not been placed so near you ; and yet my pride is our 
relationship. I had rather not live than not be the daughter 
of such a man." 

He was, indeed, a man invincible. In all the mass of his 
journals and letters, there can not be found one word indica- 
tive of repining, repentance, or melancholy, i^ot one. Cir- 
cumstances often controlled and thwarted, but never for one 
instant subdued him. 

Colonel Burr lived five months in Sweden ; three months at 
Stockholm, and two in traveling about the country. lie liked 
Sweden, and the lively Swedes liked him. To Mr. Gahn, the 
Swedish consul at New York, a warm and firm fi-iend, to 
whom he owed the introductions which made his residence in 
Sweden so pleasant, he wrote in glowing terms of the country. 

" I have never known," he said, " in any country or at any 
time, five months of weather so uniformly fine. The excel- 
lence of the roads has been a constant subject of admiration 
to me ; much superior to those of England, and all free of 
toll. In traveling more than twelve hundred English miles, I 
have never found a bridge out of order, nor an obstiaiction in 
the road which could retard your progress for a second. 
There is no country in which traveling is at once so 'cheap, 
expeditious, and secure. All travelers have borne testimony 
to Swedish honesty, but no one has attempted to discover the 
cause of a distinction so honorable. I have sought for it in 
their laws, in their social and municipal institutions, particularly 
in the judicial department. There is no country with whose 
jurisprudence I am acquainted in which personal liberty is so 
well secured ; none in which the violation of it is punished 



O40 LIFE OK AAKOX H U K K . 

with SO much otrtainty aiul proniptitiiile ; none in ■« hioh civil 
justice is :uiministered with so nmch dispatch and so little 
expense. These are strong assertions, bnt I shall bring with 
me the proots. It is sin-prising, it is nnacoonntahle, that a 
system ditVoring so essentially from every other in Europe, 
and so fraught with valuable matter, should have remained to 
this day locked up in the Swedish and Kunic tongues, and 
that not the slightest inforn\ation on this interestino- subieet 
could be tound either in English or French. I should have 
thought that some Swede, from national pride, if not from 
philanthropy, would have ditfusod the knowledge of them 
throughout Europe." 

He liked the sensibility of the cultivated Swedes. Of a 
concert which he attended at Stockholm, he writes in liis 
diary : '' Every part was execnted extremely to my satist:\c- 
tion ; but what most interested me was the perfect attention, 
and the uncommon degree of feeling exhibited by the au- 
dience. I have nowhere witnessed the like. Every eonnte- 
nance was affected by those emotions to which the music was 
adapted. In England you see no expi-ession p:\inted on the 
visajre at a concert. All is somber and oritxi. Thev cry 
"bravo! bravissimo,* with the sc^me countenance that they 
' G— d damn.' 

To one Swedish custom, howeve4", he objects. " Do remind 
me," he writes-4o Theodosda, " to give you a dissertation on 
loc-king dooi-s. Every pei^son, of every sex and grade, comes 
in witlunit knocking. Plump into yonr bedroom. They do 
not seem at all embarrassed, nor think of apologizing at tind- 
ing yon in bed, or dressing, or doing — no matter what, but go 
right on and tell their story as if all were right. If the door 
be locked and the key outside (they use altogether spring 
locks here"), no matter ; they unlock the door, and in they 
come. It is vain to desire them to knock ; they do not com- 
prehend you, and if they do, pay no manner of attention to 
it. It took me six weeks to teach my old Anna not to come 
in without knocking ; and, finally, it was only by appearing to 
get into a most violent passion, and threatening to blow out 
her brains, which she had not the least doubt I would do 



EKSIDENCE IN SWEDEN. 541 

without ceremony. I engage she is the only servant in all 
Sweden who over knocks. Notwithstanding all my caution, 
I have been almost every day disturbed in this way, and once 
last week was surprised in the most awkward situation imag- 
inable. So, madam, when you come to Sevcnska, remember 
to lock the door, and to take the key inside."* 

One more mad entry in his journal. He was assailed by 
bed-bugs : " Got up, and attempted to light candle, but in 
vain. Had Hint and matches, but only some shreds of j)inik, 
which would not catch. Recollected a gun which I had had 
on a very late journey ; filled the pan with powder, and was 
just going to flash it, when it occurred that, though I had not 
loaded it, some one else might. Tried, and found it a very 
heavy charge. What a fine alai-ni it would have made if I 
liad fired. Tiien poured out some powder on a piece of paper, 
put the shreds of punk with it, and, after fifty essays, suc- 
ceeded in firing the powder ; but it being quite dark, had put 
more powder than intended ; my shirt caught fire ; the papers 
on my table caught fire ; burned my fingers to a blister, the 

* To show how diflbrently the same thing affects different minds, I quote 
the following from one of Bayard Taylor's recent letters from Sweden: 
"There is Bomothing exceedingly primitive and unsophisticated in the man- 
ners of those norlliern people — a straightforward honesty, which takes the 
honesty of others for granted — a latent kindness and good-will which may 
at first be overlooked, because it is not demonstrative, and a total uncon- 
sciousness of what is called, in highly civilized circles, ' propriety.' The very 
freedom of manners which, in somo countries, might denote laxity of morals, 
is here tlio evident stamp of tiieir purity. Tlie thought has often recurred to 
me — which is the most truly pure and virginal nature, the fastidious Ameri- 
can girl, who blushes at the sight of a pair of boots outside a gentleman's 
bedroom door, and who requires that certain unoli'ending parts of the body 
and articles of clothing should bo designated by delicately circumlocutious 
terms, or tho simple-minded Swedish women, who come into our bedroom? 
with coffee, and make our lires while wo get up and dress, coming and going 
during all the various stages of the toilet, with tho frankest unconsciousness 
of impropriety ? This is modesty in its healthy and natural development, 
not in those morbid forms which suggest an imagination ever on the alert for 
prurient images. Nothing has confirmed my impression of the virtue of the 
nortliern Swedes more than this fact, and I have rarely felt more respect for 
\\t)man, or more faith in the inherent purity of her nature." 



642 LIFE OF A A K O X B T R K . 

left hand, fortmiatelv. It seomovi like a sxeneral oontlaiiTation. 
Succeeded, however, in lighting my candle, and piissed the 
niiiht, till iive this mornino;, in smokiniy, reading, and writing 
this." 

The last incident of his Swedish experience was the most 
aoreeahle one. A vouno- man, Luninir bv name, had formed 
au enthusiastic friendship for Colonel Burr at Stockholm. 
Something led the warm-hearted Swede to suspect that his 
friend was embarrassed for money, which, indeed, was the 
feet toward the close of his residence in Sweden. His parse 
ran low enough to alarm a man less contideiit in the resour- 
ces of his wit. A tew days at\er he had let\ the country, 
and left it never to return, he received a letter from Mi-. I.u- 
ning which, in his broken English, ran thus: "It may very 
easv be the case, that bv the behaviour of vour acrent, who 
took the rix-dolls., or by the interruption of correspond- 
ence between Germany and England, you may come in any 
embarnissment, I take mvself the liberty to send vou the in- 
closed letter, at the producing of which Mr. H. Brauer will 
pav von one tliousand marks, Ilamburir currency, which vou'U 
please to reimburse when yon arrive in England or America 
I can not tell you how much I am thanktul to Providence for 
having given me the pleasure to get acquainted Avith a man 
whom I admired long ago. I esteemed yon before, now I 
love you." 

" Did you ever hear of any thing to equal this, except in 
novels ?" wrote Burr in his diary that night. 

As he was leaving Sweden, he leained that he had been the 
subject of discussion in the newspapei"s for a considerable 
time. But his heart aiid his skin were hardened against 
newspapei-s, and he had not the curiosity to inquire what the 
Swedish editoi-s had to sav about him. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

LOVE-CHASE IN GERMANY, AND JOURNEY TO PARIS. 

LlSAVRS SWRDI'.N — TwO Wl',RK« AT COIM'.VItAOKV — At IfAMDUrtO — ClTT BV TirR AmRB- 
lOANft — 'I'llR LaDV I)RNTI:iT — PaHHI'OUTH l>l'.r,Ayi',0 — 'J'oini IN riKKMANV — AT WkI- 

MAK — Odrtiiu — Wir'.r.ANi) — Titi'. Di'fiAi, Ooijkt — Goktiik'h Tiikatrh — Oi>i> Ukw- 
CONTKIl WITH TlIK IJl.'OIIKSS — A Huitioi/n I'ahsiox — Ank(;i>oti'. — At GOTIIA — Ilia 
Famimakitv wiTii'iiii; Dvim — Tiru Pjiinormh Louihe — Incujenth at 'ihe J'i'.a.vk- 
roBT Bali,. 

Colonel Hurk had taicoii tlio bold resolution of attempting 
to roacli Paris, i^\\'iu<^ out that lie fcai-ed tho .Stockhfihri winter, 
an<l was goin<^ to Paris as a traveler mt.'rely. 

lie left Sweden on the 21st of Oetober, 1809, in company 
with the two yoiirij^ New Yorkers, llosack and Robinson, and 
crossed in an o])en boat to Eisinore on the coast of Denmark. 
On the (riairnilieent terrace there, fronting the s^'a, he saw with 
interest the sfpuire stone pillar, four f([;et high, which enjoys 
the lucrative rej)utation of marking the tomb of Hamlet. For 
a day or two the party lingered in the curious, ancient town, 
and then proceeded to Copenhagen. 

Burr spent two weeks at that interesting capital. As was 
his wont, he became acquainted with every body of import- 
anc(; and saw every thing of interest. Here, too, he found 
himself to be a well-known person, the leading facts of his life 
being familiar to well-informed Danes. Ilis stay was rendered 
the more agreeable by the jiii'iidshi]) and hospitality of Mr. 
Olsen, whom Colonel JJurr had formerly known as the Danish 
embassadoi- to the United States. The libraries and scientific 
collections ol* Copenhagen occupied much of the travelers' at- 
tention ; they are on a stupendous scale considering the re- 
sources of the kingdom, and attest its ancient culture. Ho 
was making a little collection of coins for his grandson, and 



544 LIFE OF AARON BURR. 

happening to inquire where such things were sold, it w.is 
noised abroad that he was learned in the coin-science ; a repu- 
tation which he found awkward in a city which boasts a collec- 
tion of forty thousand specimens, and where the subject was 
pursued Avith enthusiasm. He was much in the courts of Co- 
penhagen. The "Committees of Conciliation," a feature of 
the Danish legal system which he greatly admired, were mi- 
nutely inquired into by him, and he told the learned judge who 
gave him the information on the subject, that he intended, on 
his return home, to recommend his countrymen to adopt the 
idea. But perhaps it was the possible emperor of Mexico who 
made these inquiries. 

From Copenhagen, by easy stages in a wicker wagon, the 
three Americans made their way to Hamburg; or rather to 
Altona, the Danish port which adjoins Hamburg. Hamburg 
itself, being more decidedly under French influence at that 
time than Denmark, Colonel Burr thought it best to fix his 
residence in the Danish city, the gates of the two places being 
only a third of a mile apart. 

He had now to encounter a complication of hostile circum- 
stances. For the last six months, he had been out of the great 
movements of the time, in a safe and peaceful haven. But 
Hamburg was within the circle of activity, and many Ameri- 
cans were there, merchants, captains, travelers, and others, all 
of whom proved inimical to him. The ^x- Vice-President was 
cut by them all, and other marks of disrespect Avere shown 
him. " What a lot of rascals they must be," he wrote, when 
he heard of their hostility, "to make war on one whom they 
do not know ; or one loho never did harm or vnshed harm to 
a human being ! Yet they, perhaps, are not to be blamed, for 
they are influenced by what they hear." He heard, too, that 
the news of his intended journey had been announced in the 
Paris newspapers, and "in a manner no way auspicious." He 
applied in form for passports to Paris, and discovered that 
passports to Paris Avere more easily asked for in those conten- 
tious times than obtained. He was kept long waiting for a 
decisive answer. Weeks slipped by, and his stock of money 
was exhausted. At one time, in Hamburg, he Avas literally 



EXILE. 545 

penniless. It was then that, against his will and contrary to 
his intention, he used the bill for a thousand marks sent him. 
by the generous Luning. He was in doubt whether he could 
continue his journey to the French capital ; England was closed 
against him; his own countrymen abhorred him; he was des- 
titute of resources. It is no wonder that in such circumstan- 
ces he shrunk from writing home. " What can I write ?" he 
said. "To be silent as to ray intended movements would be 
strange, and to tell the true state of things afflicting to my 
friends," 

Bat never was he in better spirits. His diary, always lively, 
becomes, during this period, frolicksome and comic. Pages of 
it ai-e filled with the ludicrous history of a toothache that 
I'acked him for days and nights. He narrates all the various 
means tried for quelling the rebellion, till he was driven to tlie 
only remedy that never fails. He was directed to the resi- 
dence of a dentist, where he was received with excessive polite- 
ness by a gentleman and lady ! The lady approached him in 
a lively, officious manner, and was about to apply her hands 
to his face. Not relishing such an advance at that particular 
moment, he begged her not to trouble herself, and informed 
her that he had come to have a tooth drawn. 

"Very well, monsieur, it is I who will do the business for 
you." 

"You, madam?" 

"Yes, I." 

" But, really, is there strength enough in those little hands 
of yours ?" 

" You shall see, monsieur." 

He submitted. The tooth was drawn with dexterity, and 
he rewarded the^fair operator with a ducat and a kiss. 

The best society of Hamburg and Altona threw open wide 
its doors to the celebrated traveler. Judges, advocates, em- 
bassadors, city officials, professors, with their families and 
friends, were the daily associates of the man whom his coun- 
trymen shunned, and who had been lately obliged to pawn 
his pencil, for lack of the sous wherewith to pay the toll of a 
bridge. His most interesting acquaintance was Professor 



540 LIFE OF AARON BURR. 

Ebeling, a man prodigiously versed in the statistics of the 
United States. " His library of American books is nearly as 
large as all the Richmond Hill librai-y," wrote Burr to his 
daughter. To this vast collection Colonel Burr -was able to 
add some recent statistics, and a valuable map of Carolina, 
which were of great use to the learned professor, A warm 
feeling sprung up between them, Ebeling sent Tlieodosia a 
set of his works, and gave Burr valuable introductions to 
scholars in Gern\any, Avhither he was preparing to go. One 
of these was to '*■ Mr. Xiebuhr," whom Ebeling described as 
"the son of the celebrated Arabian traveler," who is now 
chiefly known to the world as the father of the historian. Nie- 
buhr was then privy councillor to the king, and had not yet 
lectured on Roman history. 

A tier much negotiation, and many interviews with embas- 
sadors and other magnates, permission to visit Paris reached 
Colonel Burr, just as he was leaving Denmark for a short tour 
in Germany, He continued his journey, notwithstanding, and 
passed six exciting weeks in Germany. He visited Hanover, 
Brunswick, Gottingen, Gotha, Weimar, Frankfort, and inter- 
mediate places ; at each of which he saw the most interesting 
persons. 

At Gottingen, he became intimate with Professor Heercn, 
then in the prime of his celebrity. "Professor Heeren," he 
wrote in his diary one evening, " told me two very important 
articles of news. 1st, The divorce of emperor and empress. 
The manner of it is noble and worthy of him, 2d, JVie e/npe- 
ror's assent to the independence of Mexico and the other Span- 
ish colonies. Xow why the devil didn't he tell me of this two 
years ago ?" And why did Aaron Burr linger in Germany 
when, at last, it icas told him ? We shall see in a moment. 

Weimar he reached on the 2d of January, 1810. Five de- 
lightful days he passed at that illustrious abode of genius, and 
saw the great men and great personages, whose residence 
at Weimar immortalized its name. Goethe, then in his majes- 
tic prime, our traveler met several times, and attended an even- 
ing party at his house ; but, unfortunately, adds not a word to 
the bare mention of the fact. He became somewhat intimate 



EXILE. 647 

with " tliG amiable and good Wieland." He enjoyed a tete-^- 
tete with the Baroness Do Stein. lie was presented at court, 
dined with the ducal family, and took tea with the princely la- 
dies, "all in calico and en famille.'''' "The princess Curolino 
would be happy to see him any mornins^," said la Baronno 
De Stein. At the theater, the celebrated theater, Goethe's 
theater, he saw a "serious comedy" performed "perfectly to 
his satisfaction," while the duke, Goethe's duke, sat in his lit- 
tle open side box, without an attendant, and in plain clothes, 

A curious renconter he had in the streets of Weimar. Pass- 
ing along, he saw a little girl three years old, making a stand, 
and refusing to move. Two ladies were trying in vain to pre- 
vail on her to go on. Tiie gallant American crossed over to 
try his powers of persuasion, which were potent with children. 
One of the ladies, he perceived, was a countess he had met at 
court, and bowed to her. The other lady he did not recog- 
nize at all, nor in any way salute. Soon after, he met the Bar- 
oness De Stein, and told her that he had just seen one of the 
little princesses with the Countess De Peysterand a '■\joUeJille 
de chamhre.'''' It hai)pencd that the "jolie fille de chambre" 
was no less a personage tlian the Gi'and Duchess of Weiuiar, 
to whom Madame De Stein told the story. Colonel Burr, on 
meeting the duchess at dinner that evening, at the palace, was 
humorously rallied by her on his oversight. It is evident that 
Burr was in remarkably high favor in the courtly circles of 
Weimar. 

But why was he there ? It was not the fame of Goethe and 
Wieland, and the duke, that attracted Aaron Burr to Weimar; 
but an amour, a serious passion for a lady of rank. " Wei- 
mar, Weimar," he wrote, " for which I have gone seventy 
miles out of my way ; have expended so much time and 
money ; and all this for the lovely D'Qr. I shall, at least, 
have the satisfaction of having performed my engagement, 
perhaps the only reward." Then, as the recent intelligence 
from Paris crosses his mind, he adds, " How little dirl I know 
how much I sliould regret the time!" The lady was a mem- 
ber of the court circle of Weimar. He was with her con- 
stantly there, and appears to have been no unwelcome cava- 



548 LIFE OF AAROX BURR. 

Her. His passion grew as tlie cJa^-s passed on, till he became 
so completely captivated, as to be tempted to abandon his 
long-cherished projects, and devote himself for ever to the 
object of his idolatry. 

He saw his danger, and sought safety in a precipitate flight. 
He was engaged to dinnei^s, to parties, to balls ; but, without 
waitinof even to send excuses or farewells, or to receive letters 
that had been promised him, lie hurried away from the sphere 
of the *' sorceress." " Another interview," wrote he to his 
daughtei', " and I might have been lost ; my hopes and pro- 
jects blasted and abandoned. The horror of this last catas- 
trophe struck me so forcibly, and the danger was so imminent, 
that at eight o'clock I ordered post-horses ; gave a crown ex- 
tra to the postillion to drive like the devil, and lo ! here I am 
iu a warm room, near a neat, good bed, safely locked within 
the walls of Erfmth, rejoicing and repining. If you had been 
near me, I should have had none of this trouble." 

As he was writing the above sentences, an incident occurred 
which showed that the struggle through which he had passed 
had left him in no very amiable temper. " About one o'clock 
iu the morning," he says, '" an ill-looking fellow opened my 
door without knocking, and, muttering in German something 
which I did not comprehend, bid me put out my candle. Be- 
ing in no vei'y placid hamor at the moment, as you see, I 
cursed him, and sent him to the lower regions, in French and 
English. He advanced, and was going to seize the candle. 
My umbrella, which has a dirk in the handle, being near me, 
I seized V, drew the dirk, and drove him out of the room. 
Some minutes after I heard the steps of a number of men, 
and, looking out of my window, saw it was a corporal's guard. 
It then occurred to me that this Erfurth, being a garrison 
town, with a French governor, there might, probably enough, 
be an order for extinguishing lights at a certain hour, and I 
had no doubt but the gentlemen I had just seen in the street 
were coming to invite me to take a walk with them. So I 
bundled up my papers, and put them in my pocket to be ready 
for a lodirino: in the guard-house. It was onlv the relief of the 



EXILE. 549 

sentinels going round ; and who the impertinent extinguisher 
was I have not heard." 

We find him next at Gotha, where he remained three or 
four days, and made an extraordinary impression upon the 
reigning family. The duke, in particuhir, himself a brilliant 
man, was charmed with the nrbane and agreeable American. 
Burr almost lived at the palace. He spoke one evening of 
Theodosia, and chanced to mention that he had a portrait of 
her at his hotel. Nothing would content the duke but an im- 
mediate sight of the picture, and an usher was dispatched to 
bring it to the palace. The duke liked Theodosia, but not the 
portrait. "In the original," said he, "there must be dignity, 
majesty, genius, gentleness, and sensibility ; all discernible in 
the picture, but imperfectly expressed." Burr, on his part, 
was charmed with the duke's daughter, the princess Louise, a 
lovely girl of ten years. Before leaving Gotha, he demanded 
a souvenir of the little princess. " What should it be ?" she 
asked. lie proposed a garter^ which gieatly amused the 
group. But she sent him a drawing of a bouquet, " executed 
wonderfully for her years." On examining it, he found no 
name or inscription to " verify the important transaction," 
and sent it back to have the omission supplied, which was 
very gracefully done by the little princess.* 

* The following is the note in which Colonel Burr made tlve request : 

" TO MADEMOISELLE LA BARONNE DE DALWIGK. 

" I beg pardon, in the first place, for uniting to you at all. In the next, 
for writing in English ; but great exigencies defj- the restraint of forms. 

" I have received, with enthusiasm and delight, the elegant bouquet made 
bj'' the beautiful hand of mj lovcl_y Princess Louisa; but I have searched in 
M&m for a name, a date, an address, an inscription, something to denote the 
donor and the occaston. Alas 1 all is blank and silent. Allow me to intreat 
your iatluence with my adored princess to mduce her to add her name and 
a date. The bouqtiet is sent for the purpose by the bearer of this, who will 
wait your ordci-s. 

" On another subject, mterestmg to yourself, be assured of my punctuality 

and zeal. It is wath regret that I bid adieu to Gotha I shall bear with me 

to my native forests the recollection of the charms and hospitalities of its 

court. 

'• A. Burr." 



650 LIFE OF AARON BUKR. 

At Gotha, as everywhere else in Germany, he found peo- 
ple familiarly acquainted with his career; "duels, treasons, 
speeches, gallantries," to use his own language. The Baron 
Strick, for example, chamberlain to the King of Prussia, 
whom Burr met at the court of Gotha, had read his farewell 
speech to the Senate, and conceived for the speaker an adnii- 
rati(Ui approaching the enthusiastic. No American, in a word, 
has had such success at the retined courts of Germany as Col- 
onel Burr. 

He remained a few days at Frankfort-on-the-Main, before 
entering the dominions of the emperor. Well supplied with 
introductions from his friends in Gotha and Weimar, he was 
at once at home in the court society of the city. At the Ca- 
sino there occurred two or three ridiculous incidents. 

" Who is that beautiful creature with the blanche bon ?" 
asked Burr of a grand duke whom he knew. 

" That, sir, is my daughter ; shall I have the honor to pre- 
sent you?'' 

A few minutes after, his attention was attracted by another 
lady. 

" Pray, count," said he to an acquaintance, " what fine, vo- 
luptuous woman was that you were just now talking with?" 

" Who, the very tall one, with the bon rouge ?" 

" Exactly ; a most striking figure." 

"That, sir, is my wife. Ha! ha! Come here, my dear, 
Monsieur le Colonel Burr wishes to know you." 

This, said he, Avas too much for one evening ; and having 
two other engagements, he soon left. Returning later, he 
found the ladies promenading the floor, while the gentlemen 
■were seated at cards. This struck him as being an odd ar 
rangement of the company, and addressing a young lady, he 
said, "Is there any law forbidding a gentleman to walk with 
a lady ?" 

'• 6 ! nonsense ; how could there be such a law ?" 

" Well, then, is it contrary to good manners ?" 

" By no means." 

" May I then walk with you ?" 

" Certainly." 



EXILE, 651 

And so he did for an hour, though no gentleman dared fol- 
low his example. 

From Frankfort he went to Mayence, where his Paris pass- 
ports were to be sent. To his dismay, he found they had not 
arrived. He learned further, that his intention to visit Paris 
had been extremely ill-received by the American minister, and 
he was earnestly advised not to put his person into the power 
of the French authorities. He was not dissuaded, but began 
anew negotiations for the indispensable passports. Fearing a 
long delay, he withdrew from society, and went to reside in 
cheap lodgings, observing that ducats were of more value to 
him just then than dinners. To his inexpressible relief, how- 
ever, the passports soon arrived, and on the 16th of February, 
1810, he Avas in Paris. 



CHAPTER XXX. 

IN PARIS UNDER SURVEILLANCE. 

ISTEUVIEW WITH THE DuO DE CADORE — FrUITLUSS ATTEMPTS TO REACH THE Em- 

PEitOR — Letter to Fouche — The Kino or "Westphalia — Passports Refused 
— Under Surveillance of the Police— Pecctniauy Straits — Cut by the 
American Riwidents — Interview with the Duo de Rovigo — Correspond- 
ence with the American Charge des Affaires — Burr's Extreme Poverty — 
Cures a Smoky Chimney — Letters from Theodosia — Expedients for Kaisino 
Money. 

Until Colonel Burr hoard from Professor Heeren tliat Na- 
poleon had consented to the independence of the Spanish prov- 
inces in America, he had no intention of attemptinj^ to reach 
the ear of the emperor. The news of that event changed 
him once more from a traveler into a politician, and though 
he could not break away immediately from the fiscinations of 
German society, yet having once done so, he pursued his ob- 
ject with all his own intensity. It was his last hope. 

The morning after his arrival in Paris he began operations 
by dispatching a note to the Due de Cadore, Napoleon's min- 
ister for foreign affairs, hinting at his object in coming to Paris, 
and asking an interview. Tn the evening came a civil re|)ly, 
appointing a day and hour for the purpose. At the appointed 
time, Colonel Burr went to the office of the minister, and 
applied for admission. But the porter, on referring to the list 
of persons to be that day received, found not the name of 
Burr, and refused to admit him. This was not a promising 
sign. The apj)licant, too, had neglected to bring the due's 
note granting the audience. " Fortunately,^'' says the diary, 
" the porter of the day was a woman," and " after much nego- 
tiation, got admission to the ante-chamber." He sent in his 
card and was received ; had half an hour's conversation with 
the due, in the course of which he gave him an outline of his 



HE ESCAPES. 677 

desolates Europe. The science of tyranny was in its infancy ; 
it is now matured. "Within the last fifteen years, greater rav- 
ages have been made on the dignity, the worth, and the ra- 
tional enjoyments of human nature, than in any former ten cen- 
turies. All the efforts of genius, all the nobler sentiments and 
finer feelings, are depressed and paralyzed. Private faith, per- 
sonal confidence, and the whole train of social virtues, are con- 
demned and eradicated. They are crimes. And you, my friend 
even you, with all your generous propensities, your chivalrous 
notions of honor, and faith, and delicacy, were you condemned 
to live within the grasp of the tyrant, even you would discard 
them all, or you would be sacrificed as a dangerous subject." 

What a cruel disappointment now awaited him ! Before 
the ship sailed, he had been haunted by a vague fear that 
something might still happen to prevent the voyage ; nor was 
it entirely without apprehension that he had observed from 
his cabin windows, British men-of-war cruising off the harbor. 
But the captain was confident of being allowed to pass, and 
Burr's fears subsided. But no sooner had the Vigilant put 
to sea than she was boarded by a British frigate. Officers and 
men came on board, and the ship was taken to Yarmouth, there 
to abide the decision of the admiralty, whether she should be 
condemned . as a prize, or permitted to resume her voyage. 
Thus, after all his labor, anxiety, and expenditure. Burr found 
himself again on the coast whence he had been driven more 
than two years before. 

With characteristic audacity, he wrote forthwith to the 
superintendent of the alien office for permission to land and 
to go to London. He stated the cause of his presence at Yar- 
mouth, and described himself as being " on board a small ship, 
very badly accommodated, with fifty-four passengers, of whom 
a majority were women and children, thirty-one sailoj's, thirty- 
three boys, and about one hundred other quadrupeds and 
bipeds." To his surprise-, as well as delight, he promptly re- 
ceived the desired permission ; and, what was still less to have 
been expected, he alone, of passengers and crew, was allowed 
to leave the ship. To London he Avent, where he received 
from Bentham, and his other London friends, a joyful and 

25 



578 LIFE OF AARON BURR. 

a-ffectionate welcome. As there seemed no near prospect, nor 
any certainty whatever, of the VigilanVs release, after M'ait- 
ing some weeks, he removed his effects from her, and was 
once more established as a resident in London. The ship was 
afterward released, but her destination was changed to New 
Orleans, where Colonel Burr had no wish to appear. He lost 
his passage money, and had no resource but the very scanty 
remains of the Due de Bassano's loan, and the pi'operty that 
had survived the many sans-sous periods of his residence in 
Paris. For a short time, however, he was the guest of Jere- 
my Bentham, but soon resumed, in lodgings of his own, the 
character of a gentleman in difficulties. 

Now followed a struggle with misfortune that would have 
been terrible to any man in the world but Aaron Burr. To 
him it was not terrible in the least. 

It was soon apparent that a passage to America had become 
an affair of extreme difficulty. Few ships ventured to sail ; 
and not every captain would have Aaron Burr for a passenger. 
In ships bound for New Orleans, he thought it undesirable to 
go. One or two " opj)ortunities" for northern ports, he lost 
by accident. Twenty others slipped by because he had not 
the money to improve them. And thus it happened that he 
was detained in London nearly half a year. 

One by one, the few articles of value which he possessed, 
his books, his watch, the few presents he had saved for his 
daughter and her boy, were pawned or sold. It soon became 
a fight for mere existence. He removed to furnished lodgingg 
in Clerkenwell Close, " at eight shilhngs a week ;" only the 
Godwins and one American friend being admitted to the se- 
cret. The weekly problem was, how to pay the rent, and lay 
in the week's stock of provisions and fuel. Scores of such 
entries as the following occur in the diary of this period : 

" On my way home discovered that I must dine. I find my 
appetite in the inverse ratio to my purse ; and I now conceive 
why the poor eat so much when they can get it. Considering 
the state of my finances, resolved to lay out the whole in- 
stantly in necessaries, lest some folly or some beggar should 
rob me of a shilling. Bought, viz., half a pound of beef, 



HE ESCAPES. 679 

eightpence ; a quarter of a pound of ham, sixpence ; one 
pound of brown sugar, eightpence ; two pounds of bread, 
eightpence ; ten pounds of potatoes, fivepence ; having left 
elevenpence, treated myself to a pot of ale, eightpence ; and 
now, with threepence in ray purse, have read the second vol- 
ume of Ida. My beef was boiled — so bought, I mean, and 
cooked my potatoes in my room. Made a great dinner. 
Ate at least one half of my beef. Of two great necessaries, 
coffee and tobacco, I have at least a week's allowance ; so that, 
witliout a penny, I can keep the animal machine agoing for 
eight days," 

Occasionally, we see him taking a chop at the " Hole in the 
Wall." Once he speaks of the gentlemen being shown into the 
parlor of a tavern, while he and other impecunious individuals 
were regaled with cold beef and pickles in the kitchen. At 
another time, he wrote: "Have left in cash two half-pence, 
which is much better than one penny, because they jingle, and 
thus one may refresh one's self with the music." Sometimes 
he could not write to Theodosia, because he had not " four 
and sixpence" to pay the postage. Often, he had nothing to 
eat but potatoes or bread. Once, he bought a pound of rice, 
and told Theodosia how "^7 grieved hifii to find rice retailed 
at four pence. ''"' How little he could have anticipated, on 
Theodosia's brilliant wedding-day, that he should ever con- 
template her husband's rice plantations from such a point of 
view ! 

He was all activity in London, and tried many a curious ex- 
pedient for getting money. In Paris he had had made a set 
of artificial teeth by the most celebrated dentist in Europe. 
He observed the process closely, became very intimate with 
the operator, brought with him to London a thousand of his 
teeth, and, in his extremity there, attempted to sell both the 
teeth and his own knowledge of the art of inserting them. 
But he found that the London dentists were not inferior to 
the French, and that they regarded the French teeth with 
contempt. Another of his projects was to test in England the 
process he had heard of in France, of making vinegar out of 
the sap of wood. He happened to mention the subject one 



i)SO LIFE OF A AEON lU K K . 

d:\v to Bninol, the oolobratod ongiuoor, who was at once 
struck with tl\o idea, and otVorcd to ongage with Burr in the 
oxperimont tor thoir joint l>onotit. Down to Yarmouth rushed 
Burr instantly, to get a patnphkn on the subject which he had 
left, on boai'd the ship. It \>-:\s lost. Xot dismayed, he pushed 
his inquiries for some weeks, but uever snoceeded in making 
pnict icable v incgar. 

lie had a dream, too, of making a grand improvement m 
the steamboat, wliich, on his last A-isit to Xew York, he had 
seen navigating the Hudson at the rate of live miles an hour. 
It was a rage then to invent improvements in the steamboat. 
Burr's idea gave him no peace for several days. "Kuminat- 
ing," he s:\ys, "after going to bed on the state of the tre;t5- 
nrv, the thino- came up a^-ain, and engrossed nie for at least 
three hours. I found it perfect ; applied it to soa-vcsscls, 
to ships of war ; in short, to every thing that lloats. Sails, 
and masts, and rigging, and the whole science of sean\an- 
ship, are become nselcss. My vessels go at tlieraie of twenty 
miles an hour, and am in hopes to bring them to thirty. 
From Charleston to "New York will be a certain pass;\ge of 
thirty hours ; from Xew York to London, of six days; but to 
tell half I did would till a quire of paper." He could think 
of nothing else. He saw himself a millionaire, succoring dis- 
tressed friends in Loudon, bestowing fortunes upon " the faith- 
ful in the United States," and raining beautiful presents upon 
GampiHo. But, unfortunately, as he was walking one day in 
London, thinking out the details of his invention, suddenly an 
objection occurred to him. '' It struck me," he savs, " like 
electricity: my poor vessels lay motionless. It was just op- 
posite Sou\crset House ; I stopped short, and beg-:\n to sacre 
and diable till awakened by the bustle of the passing crowd. 
The subject then lay pretty quiet till last night ; during my 
vigils I found a complete remedy, and now away we go again. 
An experiment shall be made, very privately, however, and, 
if it fail, there shall be no one but you to laugh at me." As 
the Atlantic has not yet been crossed in six days, it may be 
presumed that the experiment did t^ul. 

Another subject greatly interested him about the siame 



II K lOHC A !• KH. /)81 

timo. It was tlic Laiicastorijin rnctliod of instnicUon, wliidi 
w.'is just tlu'n coining into vogiio in LoiKhui. Ifo v'lHitcjd tho 
schools coiuluctcil on (lint Hyst(iiii, iiiwl wus ddifrlited with 
wliat lio saw. lie also l>oiio;lit LMncas!t(M-''s hook, and sent it, 
with warm conmuMKhitions, to ids dannhtcn-. 

Nor was Mexico ror<j;otti'n ; lio n((V(!r forgot it, wliilr ho 
li;id hrc'ilh. \\\\\, the Mnj^llsli j^ovciiiincnt, tliou<i;li it now CX- 
hihitt'd no nnlVicndhncss toward him, and, ind(!cd, concod(!d to 
hinv every personal I'avor that Ik! solieitcul, yet never sIiowcmI 
tho sliifJUest iid.erest in liis plans, nor any wisli to avail itsoU' 
of his knovvh'djije of Spanish /Vinerican alVairs. 

Ah tho sprini? of IB 12 advanced. Ids (h'sii-e to u^et to tho 
United States became vohoment. lie began to he!i(rv(! that 
war betwe(Mi Knj^land and th(> lJnit(Ml States was now, in spite 
of the reluctance of tlx! American cal)inet, a jiossibh; (!vent, 
and it was wvy evi(huit tliat lu* innst i^et liom(! Ixd'ore hostili- 
ti(^s coninuMicod, oi' he detained in I<]in'op((, p(irhaps, for many 
years. In the beginning of March he I'cll in, in the course of 
liis ship-hunling, with one Captain Potter, of the h\\\[) Aurora, 
wlio olVered to talce liim to lioston for thii-ty |)onnds, to keep 
the secret of his name, and to defy thc! wr.ath of the American 
consnl, who had already dissuaded more th:m one captain 
from receiving Colonel IJurr as a passenger, lie determined 
to go, and, tliongh nearly ])enniloss, proceeded witli Ids prep- 
arations foi- the voyage with the utmost (ronlidencto, Ikit des- 
perate was the struggle to got tlie moiusy. Nearly eveiy article 
lie possessed that could be sold (()r monc^y, was sold. Then 
li(^ Iiorrowed of th(> few IViends with whom he was on terms 
that adndtted of his asking sucli a liivor. Bentham, alas! had 
hims(^lf liillen into difliculties, and was tlireatened by an illib- 
eral govermnent with a ruinous prosecution. 

One ten pound note, ho got in an unexpected and not quite 
pleasant maniu'r. lie was witli Mr. llecvcs, tho superinten- 
dent of the alien ollice, and it occurred to liim to offer Reeves 
liis copy ol" liayle's dicttionary for ten pounds. Reeves .asked 
why he wislmd to sell it. "I want the money," said liurr. 
Reeves agreed to buy the book, placed ten p(junds in Burr's 
bands, and said, " You had bettor keep your Bayle, and send 



582 LIFE OF AAKON BUKK. 

ine tlio ton pounds ulion you please." " Th<? thing was so 
suilden," wrote Burr, " that I was not prepared to say any- 
thing." 

But he had not money enough yet. His fair friends were, 
as ever, active in his behalf. One of them ran about London 
all one day otforing for sale a ring and watch of his. But her 
report was that the town was full of watolies and bijouterie 
in the hands of distressed French and German nobles, and no 
jeweler would look at such things. 

Every resource had failed. Tie resolved now iipon what 
he called "a desperate and humiliating expedient." "I went," 
he said, " direct to Reeves, and told him that the ship was 
gone to Gravesend, and that I must lose my passage unless I 
could have twenty pounds. Without a word of reply, he drew 
a cheek on his banker tor twenty pounds ; and how I did gal- 
lop across the park to the said banker's to get my twenty 
pounds." His last regret was, that certain presents which 
he had long kept for Theodosia and her son, he could not i"e- 
deem from pawn. 

And now he was I'eally going. His preparations were com- 
pleted ; his ]iassage was secured ; the ship was to sail to-mor- 
row. At midnight, he wrote in his diary as follows: "And 
now, at twelve, having packed up my little residue of duds 
into that same unfortunate white sack, and stowed my scat- 
tered papers into my writmg-civse, I repose, smoking my pipe, 
and contemplating the certainty of eseapinff from this country, 
the certainty of seeing you. Those are my only pleasing antici- 
pations. For as to my reception in my own country, so far 
as depends on the government, if I may judge from the con- 
duct of their agents in every part of Europe, I ought to ex- 
pect all the etibrts of the most implacable malice. This, how- 
evtu-, does not give me a moment's uneasiness. I feel myself 
able to meet and repel them. ]My private debts are a subject 
of some little solicitude; but a contidence in my own industry 
and resources does not permit me to despond, nor even to 
doubt. If there be nothing better to be done, I shall set about 
making money in every lawful and honorable way. But again, 
as to political persecution. The incapacity, for every purpose 



HE ESCAPES. 583 

of public administration, of our present rulers, and their total 
want of energy and firmness, is such, that it is impossible that 
such feeble and corrupt materials can long hold together, or 
maintain themselves in i)o\ver or influence. Already there are 
symptoms of rapid and approaching decay and dissolution. 
Tell M. (Mr. Alston) to preserve his State inlluence, and not 
again degrade himself by compromising with rascals and cow- 
ards. My great and only real anxiety is for your health. If 
youi' constitution should be ruined, and you become the vic- 
tim of disease, I shall have no attachment to life or motive to 
exertion." 

The next morning at eight, he was at the oifice of the Graves- 
end coaches, where a few friends met him to say fai-ewell. 
Gravosend, where the sliip lay, and whence she was to sail at 
noon^ is twenty miles from London. To the horror of the 
whole i)arty, it was found that the morning coach had gone ! 
The hours of departure had been recently changed. There 
was no otiier public conveyance of any kind till one o'clock. 
What was to be done ? A friend suggested a post-chaise, but 
that would cost three guineas, and Burr had not a quarter of 
that sum. The same friend offered to lend the money " But," 
says Burr, " he is so poor, and having a wife and two children, 
that I could not in conscience take it, especially as Graves said 
the wind was ahead, and the ship could not possibly stir." So 
he waited for the one o'clock coach. 

lie reached Gravesend at five in the afternoon. The ship 
had started at noon, and was now five hours on her way down 
the river! 

There was not a moment to be lost. lie ran to the alien 
office to get his passpoi-t completed ; for pass])orts were then 
necessary for foreigners leaving England. The office was shut ! 
He hunted up the clerk, got his signature to the passport, and 
hurried to the custom-house for an officer to examine his sack 
and writing-desk. That done, he hastened to the river to en- 
gage a boatman to row after the ship and put him on board. 
Not a boatman would stir under four guineas; as on such oc- 
casions, they combined to extort from a desperate voyager an 
enormous fee. Burr had not a single guinea ! In this extremity, 



584 LIFE OF AAKON BFRR. 

he found a boatman not in tlie plot to extort, who oftered to 
put him on board for one guinea, provided he overtook the 
ship witJun twelve miles ; if not, for two guineas. Burr had 
an acquaintance with liini at Gravesend, who consented to cash 
an order for throe guineas on liis poor friend in London whose 
otier of a loan Burr had so considerately refused in the morn- 
ing. His purse thus replenished, he embarked, jiist as the sun 
was setting, in a small skifl', rowed by two men, for a ehase 
after the ship. 

It was a cold evening in ]\[aroh. Burr, with no overcoat, 
was chilled to the bone, as the boat shot down the river in the 
wind's teeth. "When the twelve miles were passed, he was 
told that the ship Avas ten miles further. By this time he was 
so benumbed with cold tliat lie could neither stand nor move ; 
and he induced the boatmen, by a promise of some grog, to 
stop at a little tavern by the river side for him to warm himself 
He had to be lit\ed out of the boat ; but a good tire and a cup 
of tea soon restored him, and they again embarked. This time 
he was perfectly comfortable, as he bought a bundle of straw 
and placed it in the boat for a bed, and the boatmen lent him 
their overcoats for a covering. In tive minutes he was /(?.•?? 
asleep, and remained unconscious of any thing till midnight, 
when the boatmen Avoke him to announce the delightful fact 
that they were alongside the Aurora. They had rowed twenty- 
seven miles, and demaiuled three guineas for their labor. 
He paid it, and went on board the ship Avithout one penny. 
The captain got up to receive him ; they sat talking for an 
hour, and then Colonel Burr, refreshed by his three liours' 
sleep on board the boat, Avent to his cabin and Avrote an ac- 
count in his journal of the day's thrilling adventures. 

" I hope," he concluded, " neA'er to visit England again, 
unless at the head of tit\y thousand men. I shake the dust otf 
my feet ; adieu, John Bull. Insula inhospitabilis, as it Avas 
truly called eighteen hundred years ago." Men must be 
allowed to speak of the market according to the demand in 
it for their own wares. 

He foimd the captain and passengers alarmed lest Avar should 
be declared before they reached Boston, ,and thus the ship be 



HE ESCAPES. 585 

exposed to capture. " But," said Burr, " I have no such ap- 
preliensions. I believe that our present administration will 
not declare war. If the British should hang or roast every 
American they can catch, and seize all their property, no war 
would be declared by the United States under present rulers. 
When Porter's war resolutions iirst came, I considered them 
mere empty, unmeaning wind ; and that all the subsequent 
measures are merely to keep up the spirits and coherence of 
the party till the elections should be over ; those elections for 
State legislatures wliicli will decide the next presidential elec- 
tion. But .J. Madison & Co. began this game too soon, and I 
doubt whether all the tricks they can play off will keep up the 
farce till the month of May. I treat their war-prattle as I 
should that of a bevy of boarding-school misses who should 
talk of making war ; show them a bayonet or a sword, and 
they run and hide. Now, at some future day, we will read 
this over, and see whether I know those folks. I did not dare 
write any such things while on shore, for I never felt perfectly 
secure against another seizure." 

Just sixty-three days after this confident prophecy was writ- 
ten, namely, on the 18th of May, 1812, war was declared, 
I3ut, by that time, the good ship Aurora was safe in Boston 
harbor. 

Colonel Burr sailed under the name of Arnot, for the as- 
sumption of which he had the express permission of the authoi'- 
ities of the British alien office. The captain kept his secret. 
"Mr. Arnot," wrote Burr, " is a grave, silent, strange sort oi 
animal, insomuch that we know not what to make of him." 
May 4th, he wrote : " A pilot is in sight, and within two miles 
of us. All is bustle and joy, except Gamp. Why should he 
rejoice ?" 

That afternoon, after a passage of five weeks, the A^trora 
was made fast to one of the Boston wharfs. Every passenger 
but one went immediately on shore. The captain and mate 
also left the ship in the course of the afternoon. 

25* 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

THE EXILE'S WELCOME HOME. 

Alonk is the Ship — Goes on Shore in litsonsK — Abyentukes at the Ci'Stom- 
HousE — Detention in Boston — Interview wmi the Old Soldier — The Col- 
lege Cla.ssm.vte — Eeooomzed by a Lady — Goop News from Swartwoi-t — 
Sails in a Sloop P(.>r New York — Finds Kelativks on Board — Startlino 
Incident — Burr Narrates his Arrival in the City — Concealed for Twen- 
ty Days — Annovncemfnt op ins Arrival — SrcoESSFUL Bkhinnino of Btsiness 
— Dreappi-l News from Tueodosia — Death of Tueodosia — Tile Fatukk'u 
Grief — Anecdote. 

It was the silent Jlr. Arnot who remained on board the 
Aurora. Atler sending letters to the post-ollioe, one directed 
to Theodosla, and another to Samuel Swartwout, that 
" strange" individual dined with the pilot and second mate 
on salt beef, potatoes, and sea-biscuit, and tlien fell with tar 
keener appetite upon a tile of Boston papers. 

All that day, and through the succeeding night, a storm of 
wind, rain, and hail raged round the ship with a fury seldom 
seen so late in the spring, even at Boston. The ship broke 
from her moorings, and was dashed with violence against an- 
other vessel. The deck and bulwarks were glazed with ice, 
and the wind roared through the icy rigging. But Burr sat 
late over his papers in the cabin quite absorbed — for he had 
a world of news to learn, and his fate might be foreshadowed 
in a paragra}>h. As the night drew on, the last sailor stole 
away over the ship's side, and went to seek his pleasure in the 
town ; and long before Burr " turned in,"' he was alone in the 
Aurora. Not a creature slept in the ship but hiui. 

Such was the returning exile's tirst welcome to the country 
■which his fatheis had honored, and which had once been well 
plei\sed to honor him. He thought lightly of it. "When a 
more furious gust than usual thundered above his head, it oc- 



THE exile's welcome HOME. 687 

curred to hitn wliat an absiirfl voyage lie sliould make if the 
eliip should be blown out to sea, and he all alone in her. 

The next morning, as ho found there was neither fuel, food, 
nor cook on board the ship, he was compelled to go on shore. 
During the voyage, by the sale of some books, ho had con- 
trived to raise thirty-two dollars, and to buy or borrow of one 
of the jjassengers a large, ol<l-fashioued wig. lie had, also, 
devoted leisure moments to the development of as much 
whisker as his countenance was capable of. Ills clothes, too, 
were selected with a view to giving him a different air and 
contour from those he had been wont to exhibit. Disguised 
thus with wig, Avhiskers, and strange garments, Mr. Aritot 
went on shore, and took board in a small, plain boarding- 
house, near the wharf, kept by the widow of a sea-captain. 

His disguise was soon subjected to a terrible test. It was 
necessary to go to the custom-house and get a permit to land 
liis effects, signed by the collector. On in(pnry he learned 
that file collector was Mr. Dearborn (a son of General Dear- 
born, Jeirerson's Seei-etary of War), who had sat often with 
Colonel Burr at his liither's tabl(?, and knew him as well as he 
did his own brother. The Dearborn family, moreover, had 
shown ])arti(;ular animosity to Burr since his misfortunes, and 
it was certain that if the collc'ctt)r recognized him, he would 
instantly send the news of his arrival to Washington. Let 
Burr tell the story of this adventure. 

" I took with me," he wrote in his diary, " a young man to 
show me the way to the custom-house, and entered with all 
])0ssible composure ; passed under the nose of Mr. Dearborn 
into the adjoining room, where the first part of the business 
was to be done. The officer to whom I was directed asked 
me to enumerate my eifects ; for this I was not prepared, sup- 
])osing that the list of thein would be taken from the manifest. 
Nevertheless, I repeated them otf as fast as he could write, 
though they consisted of eighteen different articles ; trunks, 
boxes, portmanteaus, bundles, rolls, etc. He then bade me 
sign my name to it, which I did, thus : A. Arnot ; I think 
that is very like it. Then he directed me to take it to the col- 
lector, who would sign it : here was the rub. I told the young 



588 LIFE OF AAFvON BUPvK. 

man, my conductor, to take it and get it signed for mc, for 
that I was obliged to run as fast as possible to see after my 
things, the ship being just about to haul out. He took it, and 
I got out as fast as I could, passing again under the nose of 
Dearborn, I do assure thee that I felt something lighter 
when I got down into the street. But my trouble and danger 
were not yet ended. When I got to the wharf, all ray effects 
were already lying pell-mell on the ground, and two tide- 
waitera there, ready to examine them on the spot. As every 
body here is now idle by reason of the embargo, there were 
collected more than five hundred people to see what was go- 
ing forward. Trunks, boxes, bundles, every one opened, and 
rummaged to the bottom. In many of the books my name 
was written, but it happened that he did not open in that 
page. Every parcel of letters showed also the name of A. 
Burr ; but, as I assisted in the search, I took cai-e how I pre- 
sented these parcels to him. The ceremony lasted about two 
hours, and I was another hour repacking ; working and sweat- 
ing like a horse, the mob crowding round to see the strange 
things. Of the number pres*ent, it is probable tliat more than 
half had seen me before ; and I expected every minute to 

hear some one exclaim, ' Colonel Burr, by !' But I 

heard nothing. Finally, got all to my lodgings, the whole 
expense being six dollars." 

But wliy such extreme fear of recognition ? There were 
excellent reasons for it. The government prosecutions still 
hung suspended over his head ; and Madison, who had been 
so importunate sixteen years before, in urging General Wash- 
ington to send Burr as embassador to Frajice, had imbibed all 
Jefferson's aversion to him. And secondly, two of Burr's 
largest creditors in New York held executions against him, 
and would probably throw him into jail for debt the very 
hour he should appear in the city. It was therefore necessary 
for him to remain concealed in Boston imtil the receipt of in- 
formation from his friends in New York through Swartwout. 

In 1812 it required five days to get an answer from New 
York through the mail. The five days passed ; no letter. A 
week ; no letter. Knowing well the promptness of Swart- 



THE exile's welcome HOME. 589 

wont and his impregnable fidelity, he concluded that the let- 
ter had miscarried, and wrote again. Two weeks passed ; still 
no answer. Meanwhile, his stock of money was running 
frightfully low\ Tt was very characteristic of the man, that in 
this crisis of his fate, when he had just twenty-six dollars in 
the world, he lent sixteen dollars to his landlady. "How 
very prudent," he wrote. "But don't scold. I am sure they 
will repay it." It Avas repaid, just as his store was reduced to 
a five cent piece. Then a fellow passenger called to borrow 
ten dollars of Mr. Arnot, which that gentleman lent with the 
air of a Vice-President. In the very nick of time, that, too, 
was rejDaid. He attempted to raise a little money on one or 
two articles of jewelry which he had tried in vain to sell in 
London ; but no one was willing to give any thing like their 
value for them. Something must be done, or he would soon 
be so deeply in debt as not to be able to leave the town. 
Borrowing a directory — ■ not a voluminous work at that day 
— he pored over its pages to find the name of some person 
whom he could trust — some one among the thousands that 
would have been proud to welcome him ten years before, who 
would not spurn and betray him now. He lighted upon the 
name of a man who had been under his command on the Que- 
bec expedition in 1775. He had not seen him since ; but as 
he had never known a man that had served under him in war, 
who was not ever after his devoted friend, he determined to call 
npon this old soldier. Burr used to relate this interview with 
infinite glee. Going up to the door of a handsome house, he 
plied the knocker, and an infirm old gentleman soon appeared. 

" Does Mr. live here ?" 

He did. 

" Is he at home ?" 

He was at home. 

" Can I see him ?" • 

" I am the person," said the old gentleman. 

Burr bowed, and lowering his voice, said, " I am Aaron 
Burr." 

" What ! the Aaron Burr who was Vice-President of the 

United States ?" 



.'>90 LIFB OF AARON BUBR. 

"The same." 

"You ha hit I'''' exclaimed the old soldier, astounded and be- 
wildered at the intelligence. 

In a manner much too deferential for Burr's present purpose, 
he invited him in. They went into the parlor, where Burr 
soon learned that the old man, after a life of industry, liad 
now retired from business with a decent independence. But 
he treated his former commander with such e.vtreme respect, 
that Burr was conTpelled, much against his will, to play the 
great man and distinguished guest, and actually came away, 
without so much as mentioning the object of his visit. The 
old soldier returned his call, and showed him m:uiy friendly 
attentions, but they never reached the awful subject of pecu- 
niary aid. 

Recurring to the directory, he found the name of a college 
classmate, who, up to the time of his departure for Europe, 
had always professed friendship for him. To this man, who 
was very rich, he sent a note, announcing his presence in Bos- 
ton, and requesting an interview. The rich man replied that 
he had great respect for Colonel Burr and bore him much 
good will; but, i^/;'— his position was very delicate — he 
would think of it, and, if he did not call he would write. 
Burr made the following comment in his diary : " Now, I 
euiiage he will do neither one nor the other. When a man 
takes time to consider whether he will do a good or civil ac- 
tion, be assured he will never do it. The baser feelings, the 
calculations of interest and timidity, always prevail. But did 
you ever liear of such meanness? This very J, Mason was 
at Richmond diu-ing the trial, saw all the vile persecutions 
which I encountered, and spoke of them with indignation and 
contempt ; came often to see me, and openly avowed a friend- 
ship for me. lie is immensely wealthy, and not a candidate 
for any office. What should restrain such a man from ex- 
pressing his feelings'? Timidity." lie was correct in his pre- 
diction. Mason neither came nor wrote. In his dire e.vtrem- 
ity Burr wrote again, requesting him to advance a sum of 
money upon his books, some of which were rare (in America) 
and valuable. Mason coldly replied, that " he had retired 



THE EXILE'S W E L C O il E HOME. 591 

from mercantile business, and it was tlierefore inconvenient for 
him to make advances." How admirably Burr bore such cruel, 
cutting sliglits ! If, for an instant, he was stung into anger, 
reflection soon came to his aid, reminding him of the allow- 
ances always to be made for uncultivated human nature, 
subjected from infancy to the twin tyrants. Fear and De- 
sire. 

He called upon a lady whom he had known and benefited 
in other days, whom he had not seen for sixteen years, and 
who was now infirm and half blind. At the first glance, she 
penetrated his disguise. With an air of astonishment and de- 
light, she called him by name, seized his hand, welcomed him 
with enthusiasm, summoned her son, and showed him all pos- 
sible respect and attention. But she was poor, and she was a 
lady, and the financial problem was not spoken of between 
them. 

Fifteen days after his arrival, came the letter from Swart- 
wout, breathing hope and promise. His old friends in New 
York, Swartwout assured him, were still true and warm ; his 
old enemies not inclined to be vindictive. The two creditors, 
however, were inexorable ; nothing would satisfy them but 
payment or a]»proved security. He was strongly inclined to 
go at once to New York, let the executions take their course, 
and submit to leside within the " limits." " To this," he wrote 
to his daughter, " I should have no great repugnance in point 
of pride or feeling, but there are two objections pretty cogent ; 
first and principally, i/ou. I fear your little heart would sink 
to hear that Gamp was on the limits. To be sure, if you could 
come there and see how gay he was, be supported by the light 
of his countenance, and catch inspiration from his lips, you 
would forget that he was not in paradise." Besides, he had a 
project of matrimony, which would be defeated by his con- 
finement within the limits. " You have already," he added, 
" sufiered too much on my account, and I come now to sacri- 
fice myself for you in any way and every way ; that of mar- 
riage is one, and no hope of that while a prisoner; and as to 
the payment of my debts, if I am confined to the mere prac- 
tice of the law, debarred from all those speculations in which 



692 LIFE OF AARON BURR. 

I might engage if at large, it will be the work of many years, 
and in all that time I could do you little or no good," 

What were his surprise and delight to read in Theodosia's 
first letter, not merely that she could bear his going into con- 
finement, but that she spontaneously recommended it. He 
was resolved. He would go to New York, whatever the con- 
sequences. 

It was the treasury of Harvard University that had the 
honor of paying Colonel Burr's passage, per sloop, from Bos- 
ton to New York. The old soldier had communicated, in the 
strictest confidence, of course, the fact of Burr's presence in 
Boston to a select circle of friends, among whom was Dr. 
Kirkland, the President of the University. He also intimated 
to the doctor, that Burr, as he conjectured, had more books 
Jind less money than was convenient. Whereupon the doctor 
having expressed a desire for an interview, and a wilhngness 
to buy for the college library Burr's Bayle and Moreri, he was 
gratified in both particulars. He passed an hour tete-a-tete with 
Colonel Burr, and paid him forty dollars for the books, leav- 
ing it to the seller's choice to take back the books and accept 
the money as a loan. The next day found him on board the 
sloop, his debts discharged, his passage (twenty dollars) paid, 
waiting for wind and tide to waft liim on Ins way. 

Now, he had chosen .this mode of traveling for the purpose 
of avoiding recognition, and had selected tins particular sloop 
because neither captain, crew, nor passengers belonged to New 
York. His feelings may be imagined when he found that the 
captain and most of the cabin passengers Avere his oion rela- 
tions — people from Fairfield, Connecticut, Mhere his father 
was born, and where he had spent some of the happiest days 
of his own youth. The captain's wife, in particular, was won- 
derfully like his own sister. "The same large mouth, replete 
with goodness, sweetness, and firmness; the same large, aqui- 
line nose, contour of face, and the two dimples ; and, when 
disturbed, knits the brow and forehead in the same singular 
manner ; the form of the eye the same ; very long ; the color 
not quite so dark. There is only wanting the broad forehead 
of ma soceur to be perfect. The same commanding figure 



THE exile's AVELCOME HOME, 593 

Many of her attitudes and movements, of which, you know, 
every human being has something peculiar. I look at her for 
hours together with an inexpressible interest, particularly while 
sleeping ; but I speak not for fear of betraying myself She 
must be a relative ; but, thus far, I have not learned her fam- 
ily name. I dare not question any one, from apprehensions 
of being questioned in return." 

This lady, he found, was his cousin. One day, some one 
asked her for whom a boy's hat which she had in her hand was 
intended. 

" For Burr^'' she replied. 

" Your brother ?" inquired Burr. 

" No ; my nephew." 

At Fairfield, while the sloop waa at anchor, he was asked by 
his cousin, Thaddeus Burr, to go fishing. He declined, of 
course. After looking for many hours with longing eyes upon 
the familiar coast, he^yentured to go ashore. " I sti-oUed three 
or four hours round some miles in the neighborhood. Every 
object was as familiar to me as those about Richmond Hill, and 
the review brought up many pleasant and whimsical associa- 
tions. At several doors I saw the very lips I had kissed and 
the very eyes which had ogled me in the pei\sons of their 
grandmothers about six-and-thirty years ago. I did not ven- 
ture into any of their houses, lest some of the grandmothers 
might recollect me." He afterward went to the captain's 
house, where a startling incident occurred. He Avas sitting 
reading a newspaper, when a voice behind him suddenly ex- 
claimed, 

"Ah ! Burr, how goes it ?" 

He looked round with doubtful glance, and discovered, to 
}iis great relief, that the individual addressed was one whose 
middle name was Burr, and who was commonly called by 
it. 

The voyage lasted nine days. At twilight on the 8th of 
June, the captain of the sloop, fearing to run through Hurl 
Gate at so late an hour, came to for the night at a wharf out- 
side, to Burr's infinite disappointment ; for it was essential 
to his plan that he should reach New York after dark. The 



694 LIFE OF AAKON BURK. 

last page of the diary narrates with graj^hie brevity the iuci- 
dents of this eveniiii;-. 

"To add to mv ehairrin, there eaiue to the wharf from the 
house an old man, wlu) asked if any of us would walk up. Tho 
voice was very familiar to me, and I desired the mate, who 
was near me, to ask who ke}>t that tavern. "■ Billy Mariner," 
says the same voice ; a fellow who had known me familiarly 
since I was eight years old. At this moment there hove iu 
sight a very small sail-boat, standing down. The sloop's barge 
being alongside, I engaged two of the men for a dollar to put 
me on board that sail-boat, which was done, and thus 1 found 
myself again \\ ith the prospect of arriving at the hour I Avished. 
The sail-boat pr<ncd to be a pleasure-boat belonging to two 
young farmers of Long Island. They were not bound to New 
York, but to the Xarrows, but very kindly agreed to put me 
on shore in the city. "\YIieu we got opposite the city the 
wind Avholly liiiled us ; and the tide, now very rapid, set us 
over to the Long Island shore ; and we, having no oars, Mere 
wholly at its mercy. It seemed inevitable that I must make 
a vovaae to the Xarrows, for thev could not now yet to the 
Long Island land so as to set me on shore. When we were 
nearly opposite the Battery I heard the noise of oars, and 
hailed ; was answered ; and I begged them to come along- 
side. It proved to be two vag;>l)onds in a skill', probably on 
some thieving vovasre. Thev were verv happy to set me on 
shore in the city for a dollar, and at half past eleven I was 
landed ; and S. S. having given me his address, 00 ^Yater- 
street, thither I went cheerfully, and rejoicing in my good for- 
tune. I knocked and knocked, but no answer. I knocked 
still harder, supposing they were asleep, till one of the neigh- 
bors opened a window and told me that nobody lived there. 
I asked where lived Mr. S. Of that she knew nothing. I was 
now to seek a lodging. But very few houses were open. 
Ti'ied at two or three taverns, all full; cruised along the 
wharf, but could tind no place. It was now midnight, and 
nobody to be seen in the street. To walk about the whole 
night would be too tatiguing. To have sat and slept on any 
stoop would have been thought no hardship ; but then, the 



THE exile's welcome HOME. 595 

danger that the first watchman wlio might pass would take 
me up as a vagrant and carry me up to the watch-house, was 
a denouement not at all to my mind. I walked on, thinking 
that in the skirts of the town I miglit meet at that liour some 
chaiiLuble pei'sonne, who, lor one or two dollars and I'amour 
de Dieu, would give me at least half a bed ; but seeing in an 
alley a light in the cellar of a small house, I called and asked 
for a lodging ; was answered yes ; shown into a small garret, 
where were five men already asleep; a cot and a sort of cover- 
lid was given me. I threw oj^en the window to have air, lay 
down, and slept profoundly till six. Being already dressed, I 
rose, paid for ray lodging twelve cents, and sallied out to 66 
Water-street, and there had the good luck to find >Sam. alone. 
He led me immediately to the house of his brother Robert, 
and here I am, in jjossession of Ham. 's room in Stone-street, in 
the city of New Yoi'k, on this 8th day of June, anno I>om. 
1812. Just four years since we parted at this very place." 

The day was si:)ent in quiet consultation. In the evening, 
Colonel IJurr went to the house of a lady in Nassau-street 
who had been his fast friend through all his misfortunes. She 
was overjoyed to see him. It was as though he had dropped 
from the clouds. The family gathered round, overwhelming 
him with congratulations and welcome. He told the lady his 
design, to begin again the practice of the law, tc forswear 
politics, to toil for his creditors and for Theodosia. Iler reply 
was: 

" Colonel, here shall be your office ; that suite of rooms is 
yours, as long as you need or desire them." 

The fiank and gallant offer was accepted. 

lie lay concealed for some weeks, until assurances were re- 
ceived that the government would not molest him, and' until 
means we>e found to mollify the rigor of his creditors. It 
was not till twenty days after his arrival in New York that 
the newspapers gave the first intimation of his presence in the 
country, when the following paragraph appeared in the New 
York Colamhian: " C<;lonel Burr, says a Boston paper of 
Wednesday, once so celebrated for his talents, and latterly so 
nmch talked of for liis sufferings, arrived at Newburyport 



606 i.iFK OF A.vnox nt^KR. 

from Franco and F,ti«::lanil, nml passed tlirougli this town on 
his wav to Xow York." Tho next dav, tlie editor added 
that Colonel l^urr had spent ten days in Boston hu\\(/. Aller 
that, no tuvther allusion to his arrival appears — the papers 
and the {uiblie n\ind being l"iill of the declaration of war, the 
assassination of 3[r. Perceval, and the proposed noniinatiiMj of 
Do Wilt Clinton, Burr's triinnphaut rival, to the presicftnicy. 

At the right moment he caused a line to appear in a news- 
paper to the etVoct that, "Aaron Burr had returned to the 
city and had resumed the practice of the law at Nassau- 
street." 

Its appearance electrified the city. Before Colonel Burr 
slept that night, five hundred gentlemen called upon him. The 
feeling for the moment seemed to be general throughout tho 
city, that he had been treated with undue severity, and that 
the past should be buried in oblivion. Colonel Troup, whom 
Burr had assisted with nvoncy and with books to get iiito the 
profession of the law thirty years before, and who had since 
made a fortune by its practice, and retired, now in part repaid 
Ills earlv benefactor by lendiuij him his law library. 

Burr had a very small tin sign, bearing only his name, nailed 
up in front of the house, and commenced business. Begin- 
ning with a cash capital of less than ten dollars, and that bor- 
rowed, he received, for "opinions and retaining fees, in the 
course of his iirst twelve business days, the sum of two thou- 
sand dollars ! It was a time of trouble to the community, 
and, therelbre, ot' harvest to lawyers, and clients were eager 
for the services of the man who never lost a case. The future 
began to wear a brighter hue of promise than it had known 
for many a year. Tho father wrote cheerfully to the daugh- 
ter, acquainting her with the happy turn his tortimes had 
taken, and anticipating the day when they should meet .again 
after the longest separation they had ever known. 

Alas ! misery was impending over him, so acute and ir 
remediable, so tar transcending all he had yet experienced, 
that it may be truly said of him in this month of Jutie, 1S12, 
that his sorrows were yet to b('<7hi ! A strange fortune w;w 
Aaron Burr's, to have uninterrupted success and prosperity in 



TiiK exilk'r we r, come iiomk. 591 

the first half of his life, ajid then iKjtlung but failure and dis- 
aster, in ever accumulating force, until, the very capacity to 
HufTer being exhaiisted, nothing could touch liim further I 

Aljout six weeks after his return to New York, he received 
'J'heodosia's rejjiy to hi.H chofM-ing lettei's, in thcHc; heart-rend- 
ing words : " A few miserable days past, my dear father, and 
youi* late letters would have gladdened my soul ; and even 
now I rejoice at their contents as much as it is possible for me 
to rcfjriicc at any thing ; but there is no more joy for mo ; the 
world is a blank. I have lost my boy. My child is gone for 
ever. lie expired on the 30th of June. My head is not now 
sufKciently collected to say any thing further. May Heaven, 
by other blessings, make you some amends for the noble grand- 
son you Jiave lost." Governor Alston added : " One dread- 
ful blow has destroyed us ; reduced us to the veriest, the most 
sublimated wretchedness. That boy, on whom all rested ; 
our companion, our friend — he who was to have transmitted 
down the mingled blood of Theodosia and myself — he who 
was to have j-edeemed all your glory, and shed new luster 
upon our families — that boy, at once our happiness and our 
pride, is taken from us — is dead?"* 

It was a dreadful blow, indeed. The boy, only eleven years 
old, had shown *all those early signs of talent and courage 
which were peculiarly dear to Colonel Burr and his daughter. 
Tradition reports him to have been a beautifid child, and of 
an air so superior that he had, even at that age, acquired a 
kind of celebrity in the narrow circle of South Carolina soci- 
ety. Burr was passionately fond of him. The boy was always 
in his thoughts. Wherever he went, he spoke of his noble, 
gallant little grandson, and told little stories of his courage, 
wit, and tenderness. How many hundreds of miles he had 
walked in Paris and London to procure books, coins, and trin- 
kets for him, and how many hundreds more in rescuing them 
from pawnbrokers and jewelers ! What dreams he had in- 
dulged of Gampillo's future greatness ! Jfe, was to be the per- 
fect man. In Idrn, at length, were to be blended strength and 
gentleness, intelligence and grace — all worthy qualities, and 
all shining ones. Ih was to realize Chesterfield's beau ideal 



598 LIFE OF AARON BURR. 

— a man of Saxon heart, brain, and muscle, with Celtic quick- 
ness, wit, and polish ! And this boy was dead. The stricken 
grandsire shed few tears, but he ceased to mourn his loss only 
with his life. The mention of the subject would start the 
tear, but this man of iron would fold his arms tightly over 
his breast, as if, by the exertion of mere physical strength, to 
repress the rising tide of emotion. He tried to console the 
bereaved mother, but she was inconsolable — she would not be 
comforted. " Whichever way I turn," she wrote, a month 
after the event, " the same anguish still assails me. You talk 
of consolation. Ah ! you know not what you have lost. I 
think Omnipotence could give me no equivalent for ray boy ; 
no, none — none." 

But he had not drained the cup. A deeper and bitterer 
draught was yet in reserve. 

Thcodosia languished. She waited some months at her home 
in the South, for a safe and suitable opportunity to journey 
northward, to draw strength and hope from the source tliat 
had never failed her — her father's inspiring presence. But 
her husband was now Governor of the State and general of 
militia. The country was at war with Great Britain, and he 
could not leave his post. She would have come alone by land 
in her own carriage, but it chanced that their coachman was a 
drunkard, and needed the eye of a master. It was resolved, 
at last, that she should go by sea, and her father sent a physi- 
cian from New York to superintend the embarkation and at- 
tend her on the passage — for she was, by this time, sadly 
emaciated, and very weak. Her passage was taken in a small 
schooner named the Patriot, which, after a privateering cruise, 
had put into Charleston, and was about to return to New 
York with her guns stowed below. She was commanded by 
an experienced captain, and had for sailing master an old New 
York pilot, noted for his skill and courage. The vessel was 
famous for her sailing qualities, and, it was confidently ex- 
pected, would perform the voyage to New York in five or six 
days. She sailed with a fair and gentle wind from Charleston, 
on the last day but one of the year 1812, Theodosia, her 
physician, and her maid, occupying the principal cabin. 



THE EXILE'S WELCOME HOME. 599 

The Patriot was never seen nor heard of again ! A few 
days after she left Charleston, a storm of extreme violence 
raged along the whole coast ; during which, in all probability, 
the vessel with all on board went down oif Cape Hatteras. 

The agonies of suspense endured by the husband and the 
father, the eager letters written by each to tell the other she 
had not arrived, the weary waiting for the mail, the daily 
hope, the daily despair, the thousand conjectures tliat arose 
to give a moment's relief — all this can neither be imagined 
nor described. For months, the agonized fether could not go 
upon the Battery, then the chief promenade of tlie city of 
New York, without looking wistfully down toward the Nai*- 
rows, with a secret pining hope that even yet the missing 
vessel might appear. It was long before he could relinquish 
the idea that some outward-bound ship might have rescued 
the passengers, and carried them away to a distant port, 
whence soon the noble Heart would return to bless her fath- 
er's life. By-and-by, some idle tales were started in tlie news 
papers, that the Patriot had been captured by pirates, and all 
on board murdered except Theodosia, who was carried on 
shore a captive. 

" No, no," said Burr to a friend Avho mentioned the ground- 
less rumor, " she is indeed dead. She perished in the miserable 
little pilot-boat in which she left Charleston, Were she alive, all 
the prisons in the world could not keep her from her fiither. 
When I realized the truth of her death, the world became 
a blank to me, and life had then lost all its value." To his 
son-in-law he wrote that he felt " severed fi-om the human 
race." 

During the period of suspense, he never expressed his feel- 
ings in words. He went about his daily business wearing a 
serene countenance, for he held it to be an affront to exhibit 
to others a flice of gloom. When he could no longer resist 
the feeling of certainty that Theodosia was lost, he quietly 
put out of sight every object which was peculiarly associated 
with her, every thing which her tasteful hands had made or 
adorned, every thing that had once been hers. For a long 
time, Theodosia was a name banished from the vocabulary of 



600 LIFE OF AAEON BURB. 

his house. Two or three years after her loss, he received from 
South Carolina a large box coutainiug articles which had be- 
longed to her, and some relics of her mother which she had 
preserved all her life. He opened the box and recognized the 
familiar things. Then, going intu an adjoining room, where 
a very intimate friend was sitting, he said, 

" I have something to show you." 

He led him by the hand to the open trunk, and, in a voice 
shaken with emotion, said, 

" What a fate, poor thing !" 

He closed the trunk, without anotlier word, placed it out 
of sight, and made no farther allusion to it for a long time. 
Some of the objects which so deeply moved him upon that 
occasion are still in existence, and in the possession of indivi- 
duals to whom he gave them twenty years later, and to whom 
they are a precious possession. 

Theodosia was a nearly complete reahzation of her father's 
ideal of a woman. "With a great deal of wit, spirit, and 
talent, and possessing the elegant vivacity of manner which 
he so much admired, and a face strikingly beautiful, and strik- 
iiTgly peculiar, she also inherited all that a daughter could 
inherit of her father's courage and fortitude. In both solid 
and elegant accomi^lishraents she was very far superior to the 
ladies of her time. After shining in the circles of New York, 
she led the society of South Carolina, until the time of her 
fiither's misfortunes, when slie shared his ostracism in both 
places, and was proud to share it. Her lov.e for her father 
was more like passion than filial affection. Her faith in his 
honor and in his worth was absolute and entire. Immovable 
in that faith, she could cheerfully have braved the scorn, the 
derision of a world. She would have left all to follow him. 
She would have renounced her husband, if her husband had 
faltered in his duty to a father-in-law whose fault, whatever 
it was, he had shared. No father ever more loved a child, 
nor more laboriously proved his love, than Aaron Burr. No 
child ever repaid a father's care and tenderness, with a love 
more constant and devoted than Theodosia. That such a 
woman could so entirely love and believe in him, was the tact 



THE EXILE'S WELCOME HOME. 601 

which first led the writer of these lines to su'^pect that the 
Aaron Burr who actually lived and walked these streets must 
have been a very diflorent being indeed from the Aaron Burr 
of the popular imagination. Not necessarily a good man, in 
the noblest sense of that greatest of words ; but, certainly, not 
•the monster he is thought. 

It was a maxim of the " Burr School" (as surviving friends 
of Colonel Burr still call his system of life), to accept the In- 
evitable without repining. He held it weakness to mourn, 
and wisdom to enjoy. After losses, he maintained, we should 
hold all the faster to what is left^ and enjoy it. This was his 
principle ; and he acted upon it ; and was prone to undervalue 
those who did not. If it had been his fortune to go before his 
daughter to the other world, he would have told her with his 
dying breath tliat if she desired truly to honor his memory, 
she must be happy, and a source of happiness when he was 
gone. Therefore, though the loss of his daughter and her boy 
had taken from his life its object and its charm, he exhibited 
to the world a composed demeanoi", and strove, in all ways, 
to enjoy the passing hour. Time heals or assuages all wounds. 
He put his grief away from him. He would not be sorrow- 
ful. 

It seemed as though, to the end of his life, he was more 
tender and loving to all the children he ever met for Gampil- 
lo's sake. Some months after these events, he chanced one 
day, on a journey to Albany, to visit some very old friends 
near Newburg, whom he had not seen for a long time. He 
knocked at the door of the house two or three times, and no 
one came ; when, presuming on his intimacy with the family, 
he pushed open the front door, and entered a parlor. There 
he was shocked to see, lying in an open coffin, the body of a 
child whom he had known as the delight of the household, 
and of whose sickness even he had not heard. He was ob- 
served by a servant to gaze with singular intensity upon the 
countenance of the dead child, and to sit down by its side, 
covering his face with his hands. Then he rose and left the 
house. A few days after, he wrote a letter to the afflicted 

26 



602 LIFE OF AAKON BUEK. 

family, apologizing for his strange behavior. " Ever since the 
event," he wrote, " which separated me from mankind, I have 
been able neither to give nor to receive consolation." That 
" event," they supposed, was the duel with Hamilton — so 
little did they know of the m:ui they had known so long. 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

ANECDOTES AND REMINISCENCES OF HIS LATER TEARS. 

PoruLATi Notion of Burr's Later Tears — His Debts — Starts Genkrai, Jaokbon 
FOE THIS PitEsiDENOY — TiiE Mkdoef Eden Casb — Remarkahle Case of Incest 

— Interview with Henry Clay — Scene between Burr and General Scott 

— Burr Revisits tiik Scene of the Duel — Burr's Meeting with Mrs. Hamil- 
ton — Burr and Vanderlyn the Painter — Recollkctions of Dr. Woodhridqe 

— IIiB Religious Belief — IIis Opinion of the Biiile — Anecdotes — Gener- 
osity OF Burr — Anecdotes — Story of Burr and General Jackson — Burr's 
Opinion of Jackson — Burr's Hale Old Age — Burr and Fanny Kemblb. 

There is no part of the long life of Aaron Burr, respecting 
whicli the poi)ular idea is more at variance with the truth, than 
the period which we now enter upon. That popular idea is 
forcibly expressed by the concluding words of a writer in the 
old New York Review (January, 1838) — a writer whose pro- 
fession and whose errors should have conspired to render just, 
if not charitable : 

" With the recklessness produced by a present which had 
no comfort, and a future which had no hope, he (Aaron Burr) 
surrendered himself without shame to the grovcHng propen- 
sities which had formed his first step on the road to ruin, until 
at last, overcome by disease, in the decay of a worn-out body, 
and the imbecility of a much-abused mind, he lay a shattered 
wreck of humanity, just entering upon eternity with not 
enou<rh of man left about him to make a Christian out of. 
Ruined in fortune, and rotten in reputation, thus passed fi-om 
the busy scene one who might have been a glorious actor in 
it ; and when he was laid in the grave, decency congratulated 
itself that a nuisance was removed, and good men were glad 
that God had seen fit to deliver society from the contaminat- 
ing contact of a festering mass of moral putrefaction," 

It would be difficult to put into words a statement more 
false than this sounding, shameful, pitiless paragraph. It 



604 H F E O F A A R O X B U R R . 

would have been $o easy to tind out tho truth about Colonel 
Burr's last years in lS;iS. It has not boon very difficult in 
1857 ; fiii" there are still several persons living whose recollec- 
tions of him in those years are full and accurate, and who have 
been more than willinc' to tell what thev know, Grovelino 
propensities ! A more delicate creature never lived in mascu- 
line form than Aaron Burr. A man of refined appetite ; in 
no bad sense a sensualist ; abhorring i/ross pleasures, pursuits, 
and persons. Look at his face ! Is it the face of a sensualist ? 
But I reserve this subject for consideration in another chap- 
ter,^and proceed to narrate here such events and incidents of 
this period of his life as seem worthy of brief record. 

Observe, tirst, the circumstances of the man. lie is declin- 
ing into the vale of years; he is iitU'-seven years old. lie ij 
alone in the world. The excitement produced by his sudden 
arrival in the city soon subsided, and the old odium gathered 
thick about him. From the tirst, he took the honorabl-e, the 
right resolution of knowing those only who tirst recognized 
hini. Thus he acquired the habit, which many will remember, 
of glancing under his eyelids at an approaching acquaintance 
to see whether or not he meant to cut him. Usually the ap 
proaching acquaintance had that intention, and was deprived 
of the opportunity by Colonel Burr's looking another way. 
Thus the circle of his acquaintance grew ever narrower, until 
it included few beside his clients and his tried friends, whose 
friendship dated back to revolutionary times. For, if there is 
a noble element in human nature which inclines us to take the 
weaker side, there is a base principle, too, which urges us to 
join in a hue and cry. He made not the slightest endeavor 
to set himself right with the public. He never sought friends. 
Besides the general causes of odium, half a do/en intluontial 
fomilies of the city imagined that it was part of their dutv to 
the dead to heap obloquy upon the living. Tliere was a " set" 
who took the infamy of Aaron Burr in charge, and nursed it, 
and never let it cease growing until it tilled the world. 

lie was beleaguered with creditors, some of whom had 
bought expedition debts for a fraction of their face, and were 
clan\orous for payment. A large proportion of the immeuse 



ANECDOTES AND REMINI8CENOK8. 605 

expenses incurrod (luring liis Iriul liad never been ]ai(l. There 
were his debts, too, to the Due de BiiHsaiio, and others in 
Europe, which liad peculiar claims ; and, beside, there was a 
silent, but needy company of relations and near cormections 
who liad advanced money they could ill spare in aid of tho 
expedition. Of old debts incurred in prosperous days, there 
were several thousand dollars. Many had been ruined by the 
failuie of the expedition, whom Colonel Burr felt bound to 
assist in their extremity, and from whose application he could 
never, to his last breath, turn away. The least meritorious of 
his creditoi-s were, of course, the most relentless ; and ho re- 
solved, from the beginning, not to attempt to pay, until he 
could pay justly — until he saw a prospect of paying a propor- 
tion to all. 

The largeness of the sum which he had received in the first 
few days of his practice, was due to a variety of unusual cir- 
cumstances ; a large part of it was payment for services yet 
to be rendered. The most prudent of men, in his situation, 
could not have saved for his creditors more than a very few 
thousands a year, and Aaron Burr, in his use of money, was 
never prudent. He was one of those who are constitiil ionally 
incapable of driving a good bargain for hhnself — thiough 
whose fingers money slips in an unaccountable manner. 

Desperate were his first struggles with this mass of indebt- 
edness. Without capital to speculate with, his only source of 
uicome was the practice of his profession in a city where it 
soon became a disgrace to be seen in his company. Yor three 
or four years, the utmost efforts of his ingenuity could do no 
more than keep him out of jail. His legal services were in 
request — particularly his opinions in real estate cases, and he 
eaiiied considerable sinns ; but his debts were so numerous 
and so enormous, that merely to defeat the attempts of credit- 
ors to confine his person, absorbed his income and tasked his 
powers. Many times he was kept out of the dreaded " lim- 
its" by some wealthy friend giving bail for his appearance. It 
was a life-long battle. The greater debts were never paid. 
Even the sum due to the Due de Bassano is ordered, in his 



60(3 LIFE OF AARON BURR. 

last will, to he paid if he should die possessed of property suf- 
ficient for the purpose. 

The details of this too unequal strife need not be dwelt 
upon. It formed the business and shilling basis of his life. 
Wearied, at length, with the endeavor to accomplish the im- 
possible task, it is not to be denied, that, with advancing age 
and decaying powers, he grew indiflerent to it, and often gave 
away in charity sums of money that might have appeased a 
creditor. This was wrong, of course, but the demands upon 
his charity were very numerous and pressing, and some of 
them were of the nature of debt itself. For example, Colonel 
Burr, upon his return to Xew York, found Luther ^Martin a 
ruined man — ruined through high living and deep drinking. 
He owed Luther Martin much money for his legal services, 
and more gratitude for his generous championship ; and he paid 
both debts by taking him into his house, assigning him a per- 
manent apartment, and maintaining him in comfort and dig- 
nity, until he died in 1826 at the age of eighty-one. Another 
example was that of a relative of Dr. Hosack, who fell into 
drinking and destitution in his old age, to whom Colonel Burr 
gave aid and shelter. 

One day, when some dastard soul rebuked him for aiding 
men who had disgraced themselves by bad habits, he made 
this reply : " They may be black to the world. I care not 
how black. They were ever white to me !" 

The only important act of Burr's later life was his sugges- 
tion of a course of political action which resulted, finally, in 
ending the supremacy of the Virginia politicians and electing 
General Jackson to the presidency. He knew all political 
secrets, as before, and had much more to do with advising 
political measures than would now be willingly confessed by 
certain politicians of that day who still linger on the stage. 
In the tall of 1815, he ascertained that James Monroe would 
be nominated for the presidency by the democratic congres- 
sional caucus. He was opposed to the system of nominating 
candidates by congressional caucuses, as being " hostile to all 
freedom and independence of sufi^"rage ;" he was opposed to 
Virginian supremacy ; he was opposed to James Monroe. " A 



ANECDOTES AND REMINISCENCES. 60'? 

certain junto," he wrote to Governor Alston, " of actual and 
factitious Virginians, having had possession of the govern- 
ment for twenty-four years, consider the United States as 
their property, and, by bawling ' Support the administra- 
tion,' have so long succeeded in duping the republican pub- 
lic." In the same letter he drew a very unflattering sketch 
of Cqjonel Monroe : " Naturally dull and stupid ; extremely 
illiterate ; indecisive to a degree that would be incredible to 
one who did not know him ; pusillanimous, and, of course, 
hypocritical ; has no opinion on any subject, and will be al- 
ways under the government of the worst men ; pretends, as I 
am told, to some knowledge of military matters, but never 
commanded a platoon, nor was ever fit to command one. ' He 
served in the revolutionary war /' — that is, he acted a short 
time as aid-de-camp to Lord Stirling, who was regularly 
* * *. Monroe's whole duty was to fill his lordship's 
tankard, and hear, with indications of admiration, his lord- 
ship's long stories about himself Such is Monroe's military 
experience. I was with my regiment in the same division at 
the time. As a lawyer, Monroe was far below mediocrity. 
He never rose to the honor of trying a cause of the value of 
a hundred pounds. This is a charaater exactly suited to the 
views of the Virginia junto." 

The remedy he proposed was the nomination of a popular 
character like Andrew Jackson, the hero of the late war, and 
then in the flush of his boundless popularity. " The mo- 
ment," continued Burr, "is auspicious for breaking down this 
degrading system. The best citizens of our country acknowl- 
edge the feebleness of our administration. They acknowledge 
that oftices are bestowed merely to preserve power, and with- 
out the smallest regard to fitness. If, then, there be a man in 
the United States of firmness and decision, and having stand- 
ing enough to afibrd even a hope of success, it is your duty to 
hold him up to public view : that man is Andrew Jackson. 
Nothing is wanting but a respectable nomination, made before 
the proclamation of the Virginia caucus, and Jackson's suc- 
cess is inevitable. If this project should accord with your 
views, I could wish to see you prominent in the execution of 



608 LIFE OF AABON BUKE. 

it. It must be known to be your work. Whether a formal 
and open nomination should now be made, or whether you 
should, for the present, content yourself with barely denounc- 
'^^oi ^y ^ joint resohition of both Houses of your legishature, 
congressional caucuses and nominations, you only can judge. 
One consideration iucUnes me to hesitate about the policy of 
a present nomination. It is this — that Jackson ought first to 
be admonished to be passive : for, the moment he shall be an- 
nounced as a candidate, he will be assailed by the Virginia 
junto witli menaces, and with insidious promises of boons and 
favors. There is danger that Jackson might be icrought upon 
by such practices J'' 

From that time General Jackson, as every one knows, was 
the popular candidate, par exellence, with ever-improving 
chances of success; until, in 182S, Colonel Burr saw his sug- 
gestion realized, and his old confederate and champion seated 
in the presidential chair. IVien, the old soldier was in a posi- 
tion to aid, in another manner, the subjugation of the Span- 
iards in Texas ! Then^ he could give effect to the bent 
toward south-western acquisition which he had derived from 
Aaron Burr tliirty years before ! 

The absorbing occupation of Burr's life for several years 
after his return from Europe, was the suit in chancery, well 
known to lawyers as the Medcef Eden case. His manage- 
ment of this cause was so remarkable and characteristic, that 
an outline of its history may interest the reader. Medcef 
Eden was a New York brewer who made a great fortune, 
and, dying in 1798, left his two sons a large amount of real 
estate upon the island of Manhattan. The two sons were to 
share the property equally, and if either died childless the 
survivor was to inherit the deceased's share. These voung 
men, partly through their own extravagance, but chiefly 
through the dishonest sharpness of creditors, ran through 
their property in two or three years, and becoming bankrupts, 
were reduced to utter poverty. Their case was submitted 
afterward to the two leaders of the New York bar, Alexander 
Hamilton and Aaron Burr, and the question was pro})osed, 
whether the estate could be recovered. Hamilton said it 



ANECDOTES AND REMINISCENCES. 609 

could not ; Btirr was of opinion that it could. Hamilton's 
opinion was adopted : no proceedings were attempted ; the 
matter was forgotten ; and the Edens lived on in poverty. A 
year after Burr's return, he was reminded of the case by 
hearing of the death of one of the brothers. Meanwhile, the 
estate had enormously increased in value. Inquiring for the 
surviving brother, he found him in Westchester county, im- 
mersed in debt, and residing within debtors' " Hmits." The 
result was, that Burr, moneyless and in debt as he was, under- 
took to recover the estate, Eden agreeing to follow his advice 
in all things — to be, in fact, a passive instrument in his hands. 
Eden, his wife and two daughters. Burr brought to the city, 
established them in his own house, sent the daughters to 
school, and amused his leisure hours, for ten years, by laboring 
with the same assiduity for their mental improvement as he 
had done in former times for Theodosia's. 

He went to work craftily. The valuable parts of the estate 
lay in the city itself, several lots being held by banks and 
other wealthy corporations. He let those alone, for a while, 
and confined his first efforts to the recovery of a small flirra 
in the upper part of the island, his object being to get the 
principle quietly established, upon which to found the more 
important suits. The owner of the farm was informed of this 
intention, and it was further intimated to him, that if he would 
not too seriously contest and prolong the suit, he should be 
allowed to buy back his farm on his own terms. Burr won 
the suit. The case was appealed. He was again successful. 
Then he came down upon the holders of the city lots Avith a 
pelting storm of writs of ejectment — to their equal surprise 
and alarm. The litigation was then fairly begun, and the 
courts were kept busy at it for many years — until it became 
as familiar as the cause of " Jarndice and Jarndice." Among 
those who assisted Burr in the conduct of these suits was 
Martin Van Buren. Biirr won suit after suit, and recovered, 
in time, a very large amount of property. 

But, unfortimately, he began the war destitute of its " sin- 
ews," though his opponents were bountifully provided with the 
same. The suits were long, and some of them very expensive. 

26* 



(' 10 IT V" K O F A A K O N H T' K K . 

On tho tnith of t]\o Tirst tiooi^ious in liis tavor, l»o ii\iluoi\l 
n\onov-londoi"s, bv tho ivniuont ofoxoossivo nsurv, to ;\dv;moo 
uionov upon pjvporty still in dispute, aiui thus it soinotiiuos 
happonod that noitluM- ho nor his oliont gainod any poouniarv 
advatitasi'o from dooisions whioh ftssignod tl\oin vahiabKOunisos 
and lands. Xovorth closes ho iXJunod onouiih to amply ropay 
hin\ tor his troublo and toil, and his oliont was n^aintainod 
with OYory oon\tbrt until ho diod. loaving- l>arr tho li'uardian 
of his ohildroTi. Tho daughto»*s, it may ho avUlod, bov>an\o 
acoomplishod womon, and oontraotod rospootahlo marriaiios. 

Ono oaso, in whioh Burr was tho loador, would turnish tho 
grouT\dwork of a thrillinu- romanoo. A brothor ami sistor. tho 
ohildron of an anoiont houso in F.nir1ai\d, woro lod, by an ex- 
traordinary ohain of oiroumstanoos, to supposo that thoy w oro 
not rolatod. but woro brought up as brothor and sistor to pro- 
vont thoir torming- a tondoror relation. Thoy foil in lovo, 
olopod. married, and tUvl to Amorioa. Hither thoir iruardian 
followed tluMU, ai\d, tho bettor to soouro thoir separation, had 
thotn arrested oi\ tho ohariio of inoost, and throwti into prison. 
In the old stone jail that formerly stood in tho Park, between 
the City llall ami l^roadway. Burr found tho deluded pair and 
thoir dauiihtor, a ohild o( stratijio beauty. They protested 
thoir inuooonoo atui implored his aid. Kutoring warn\ly into 
tho oauso, ho soon obtained the release of tho boautitul ut»- 
happv mother, and hor wondertully lovely ohild. lie gave 
them a homo iti his own houso. Tho ohild grow to tho ago of 
throe or tour, when, tbrtunatoly for itself and its parents, it 
died. After a long oontinomont, tho husband-brother was 
released in oonsoquonoo of tho death of tho guardiait who 
brouixht tho suit. Both being then oonvinoed of thoir error, 
tho lady went to reside in Paris, and tho gentlemati returned 
to England, whore ho still resides. All this was done by Col- 
onel Burr without fee or reward, lor his elionts wore thou 
destitute of rosouroos; but. in at\or years, when he was a very 
old man, tho gentleman, who had inherited a largo tortune, 
sent him .•» oonsidorablo, though uiadequato. too. 

A beautiful woman oamo to him ot\e day to engage his sorv- 
ieos in a suit for divoroo. whioh she was about to bring against 



ANICCDOTKS AND R E M I N I 8 C E N CB 8. Oil 

her husband. After hearing her story, ho was averse to bring- 
ing the suit, and dissuaded her in terms like these : " Madame, 
your cause will have to be tried by twelve men — all sinners. 
They will have a fellow-feeling with the sinner ; and, you know, 
a fellow-feeling makes us wondrous kind. 'J'liese men will 
liave to be told, that for a long time past your husband has 
not been permitted to enjoy your society. They will Hee you 
and pity him ! I assure you, my di^ar madame, it will be ex- 
tremely difficult to get a verdict in your favor." The lady 
was convinced. 

As a general rule, he was treated by the bar with distant 
respect. He was an antagonist to be afraid of. On one occa- 
sion, a lawyer of some note refused to be employed in an im- 
portant cause in conjunction with Colonel Burr. The company 
who brought the suit deliberated awhile, and determined to 
adhere to Burr, to whom the pajjcrs were then confided. It 
was known to be his custom never to undertake a cause which 
he was not sure of wirming, and it was known, too, thnt he 
had never lost a cause in his life which ho had attended to 
himself. I^lie opposing paity waited with anxiety to hear 
whether Burr had acccipted the case, and, on learning that ho 
had, made an immediate offer to compromise. 

Mr. Epos Sargent, in his (" campaign") Life of the great 
Ken .uckian, tells us, that on his return frotn Ghent, Henry 
Clay visited the federal court-room in the city of Now York. 
" On entering the court-room in the City Hall," says Mr. 
Sargent, " the eyes of the Itonch, bar, officers, and attendants 
upon the court, Avere turned upon Mr. Clay, who was invited 
to take a seat upon the bench, which he politely declined, and 
took a position in the bar. Shoitly after, a small gentleman, 
apjiarently advanced in years, and with bushy, gray hair, whom 
Mr. Clay, for an instant, did not recognize, approached him. 
He quickly perceived it was Colonel Bun-, who tendered his 
hand to salute Mr. Clay. Tlie latter declined receiving it. The 
colonel, nevertheless, was not rej)ulsed, but engaged in con- 
versation with Mr. Clay, remarking, that he had understood, 
that besides the treaty of peace, the American commissioners 
had negotiated a good commercial convention with Great Brit- 



6 1 - T. I F K O F A A K O N U U R R . 

ain, yW. Clay coplioii coldly, that svioh a oouvontioii was con- 
oliulod, atui that its tc-nus would bo known as soon as it was 
pionvulo-atod by publii* authority. Colonol Hmr oxprossod a 
wish to ha\o an hour's intorviow with him, and Mr. Clay told 
him whoro ho stoj^pod — but tho oolonol novor oallod." 

Thoso wovo busv voars, as indood woro all iho voars ot' this 
man's lito. A <4ontkMnan w ho spont son\o timo in Ins olVioo at 
this period, has dosoribod to mo his mannor ot' omployinji" tho 
day. Ho roso at tho dawn. .\. broakfast of an egg and a ou]> 
of cotVoo suthood tor this most abstemious of n\on ; at\or whioh 
ho workod amonjj his papors tor son\o hom-s botoro his olorks 
and assistants arrivod. llo was a harvl taskmaster : ho " kopt us 
all upon tho junip." All day ho was dispatohiug- and voooiv- 
ing niossagos, sending- (or books, persons, and papers; oxjHH'ting 
every oommand to bo i>beyod with next-to-inipossible oelority, 
inspiring every one with his own /.oal, and getting a surprising 
quantity of work aeooinplishod. " llo was l)t<iihu\^s hicamafe^''^ 
said my inforuiant. About ton in the evening he would give 
over, invite his oompanions to tho side-board, and take a sin- 
gle glass ot' wiuo. Then his spirits would rise, and he would 
sit for hours tolling stories of his past life, and drawing brief 
and graphio skotohos o( oolobrated eharaoters with whom ho 
had aetod. (,)fton ho was full o( wit ami gayety at suoh times ; 
"the liveliest Ibllow in the world;" "as merry as a boy;" 
" novor molanoholy, novor ill-natured." About midnight, or 
later, ho would lie down uiH>n a hard oouoh in a oornor of his 
otlioo, and sloop '' like a ohild," until the morning, lu his 
personal habits ho was a thorough-going Spartan — eating lit- 
tle, drinking little, sleeping little, working hartl. llo was 
Ibtul o[ oaloulating iipou how small a sum life oould bo sup- 
ported, and used to think that ho oould live well enough upon 
sovonty-tivo oonts a week. 

And here may bo introduood suoh iVagmonis of his conver- 
sation as are still vetnombored. 

His eonvers^ation upon the past was remarkable for its can- 
dor, humor, and charity, lie denounced no one — not even 
tioueral Wilkinson, of whon\ ho spoke more severely th;m ot 
any one else. lie used to assert, in tho most positive manner, 



A N IK! I) OT ros A N f) IHO M I N I H C IE N C K 8 . <ll.'{ 

(JiMi Wilkliisuti liiul iiiic(|niv()c,:illy hctrxycd liiiii. A^aiiiHt 
Jcircrsoii he ilid not, hcciii to bo cmbittcrod, tli(Migli I.Ik; piilj- 
Ii(%'iii(ni <>r the " AnuH" \f\x\v. Iiim ji |(;iHHiii<r (Iin^iiHt, Ho do- 
H(iril»(!(l hiiii :\s :i very !igi'00!il)lo itiiiii in coiivofHiition ; a iruin 
ol" no " ])rcs('iic.(; ;" ;i jihuii, coiinl ry-l(i(»lvii)rr ninii ; :i Hiiiccro 
iiiid lli(»r()iin;li ",J;ic()l)iii" in opinion. Ho lliouglit .li^ll'crHon'M 
" l(!V('Iin{f piin(M|»I(!.s," jih lie ojillod tliom, vvcro vory ulwin-d, iind 
li;i(l (lono f^rcul/ li:irin. <)l" tlic, r(!|)ublio;i,n form of govorn- 
iiKtnt, as horo CHlahlisliod, with ilH oiiliroly (iiUil cIouKint, of 
" rol.'U-ion in olTico," lio had an ill opinion, and was Hiiro it 
could iiol last. Ono day, Homo gontlomon vvoro (soiivorHing 
upon tli(! HnbJ(iot in bis presifnoo, vvbon ono (»(' tborn <!lian(!od 
to ns(! tlio phrase, " (jxpoiindcrs of the (Jonstitiitioii." At the 
nioiiKMit a noisy crowd ot'olootionooritif^ DiiinooratH wore pasH- 
iiiL^. I birr, who liad stood siiont for sorno tinio with his hands 
boliind him, holdint^ his hat (his ("avorito attitiido), point(Hl to 
the mob, and said, " 7'hey arc the GX[)otin(bu-H of tho Consti- 
tution !" 

(b'lioral Washington lio nndorratod to tho last. Hiinsolf 
tho (piickcst of morliils in apprtOumdin!^ and (b-cidinj^, ho 
could not admiro a gcitieral who was so slow to mako ii]) his 
mind. H(! thoui^ht Washington, as bolbro recorded, a very 
hoiM'St and w(dl-intontionod country gontleman ; but no great 
soldier, and very far indcuMl Iroin bcfing a (b;mi-god. Burr 
dislike(| a. dull |)(!rson next to a coward, and ho thought gon- 
(!ial Washington a dull piirson. Hamilton and other young 
scliolar-sohliei's of tin? Kcsvoliition wore evidently of a similar 
opinion, but 1 la,niih(Hi tlioiight that tin' popiil;iiil,y of tho gen- 
eral was essential to the triumph of tiie cause, and, accord- 
ingly, he ke[)t his opinion to hims(!lf. Burr, loss prudent, less 
disinteresled, porhai)S, made no secret of his. 

Cai'lyle declares, that the very stupidil-y of John I bill is 
wiser than other peojdo's wisd(nn ; and it may Ijo remarked 
of (loneral Washingtiui,' that, though lu; could not mako a 
hon. mot., nor always spell ono when it was made, his (billness 
was brighter than tho brilliaiu;y of Hamilton and Jbirr. Let 
Burr, however, bo coinmondctd liu' his (;andor in not ajfcctinff 
im admiration for a popular idol, with regard to whom it is 



614 LIFE OF AARON BURR. 

considered unpatriotic to have an opinion. His harmless crit- 
icism of his commander is less ollensive and less immoral than 
the canting adulation of self-seeking politicians, who have suc- 
ceeded in concealing the interesting traits of the man, and 
obscuring his real claim to the admiration of posterity. 

People were often startled by the utter nonchalance with 
which Colonel Burr would allude to passages in his jiast life, 
which were generally thought to be intamous. The following 
scene, derived from an eye-witness, is an example : 

It has been mentioned that on the opening of the trial at 
Richmond, young AVinfield Scott occupied a conspicuous posi- 
tion above the audience. Before the trial had progressed far, 
he left Richmond, and never saw Colonel Burr again until 
after his return from Europe. On the evening of tlie day on 
which he was first named General Scott, he found himself at 
the house of a distinguished jjolitician in Albany, where a little 
suj)j)er was to celebrate his promotion. 

"Have you any objection, general, to be introduced to Col- 
onel Aaron Burr?'' inquired the giver of the feast. 

"Any gentleman whom you choose to invite to your house," 
replied the general, "I shall be glad to knovv." 

Colonel Burr entered; the introduction took place; the 
party sat down to whist, until supper was announced. At the 
table, the old colonel and the young general sat opposite each 
other, but no particular conversation occurred between them 
for some time. Meanwhile, General Scott, ever as courteous 
as bra\ e, forbore to pronounce the word Jiichmond, or even 
Virgltila^ lest it should excite jiainful feelings in the mind of 
a fallen man. Suddenly, Colonel Burr looked up and said, 

" General Scott, I've seen you before." 

" Have you, indeed ?" rejoined the general, supposing that 
he referred to some military scene, or other public occasion, in 
which he had figured. 

" Yes," continued Burr, '■'■ I saw you at my trials 

He then described the position and dress of the young gen- 
tleman in the court-room, and proceeded to converse about 
the scenes that transpired at Richmond precisely in the tone 
and manner of a casual spectator. The general was both 



ANECDOTES AND REMINISCENCES. 615 

astonished and relieved. It was during the war of 1812 that 
this scene occurred, and the old soldier expressed cordial ad- 
miration of General Scott's gallantry and conduct. On the 
same occasion, Colonel Burr asked, 

" Wliy don't the folks at Washington employ General Jack- 
son ?" 

Some one said that Jackson had a command in the militia, 
and would soon be called into active service. 

'Burr said: "I'll tell yon why they don't give him a com- 
mission; he's a friend of mine ; that's the reason." 

He talked with perfect fi-eedom respecting his Mexican en- 
terprise, particularly its comic incidents. Commenting on the 
charge that he had descended the river "in warlike array," 
he used to give a humorous description of his boats and their 
crews.- Nothing is accurately enough remembered of his de- 
scription to be given here, except that the maimer of the de- 
scent was most ludicrously different from what is understood 
by the phrase " warlike an-ay." What with the pranks of a 
large monkey and the music of a violin, his men seemed to 
have had a very merry voyage of it. He spoke kindly of 
Blennerhassett. He was not a bad man. Burr would say, 
though a weak one ; a man of some knowledge, and no sense; 
who required no persuading to enter into the South-western 
scheme, but was madly eager to embark in it the moment it 
Avas mentioned. After Burr's return to America, he wrote to 
Mrs. Blennerliassett (in Ireland) for the letters and documents 
in her possession relating to the enterprise. She demanded a 
great price for them, which Burr was not in circumstances to 
give. He sent her two or three sums of money, however, in 
her destitution, the amounts of which are not remembered by 
my informant, though he is positive as to the fact of money 
being sent to her. 

He conversed with equal freedom of the duel with Hamil- 
ton. He never blamed himself for his conduct in that aftair 
Despising the out-cry made about the duel, he would indulge, 
fiometiines, in a kind of defiant affectation rcspectitig it. " JShj 
friend Hamilton — tohom I shot,'>' he would say, with amazing 
nonchalance. Usually, however, he alluded to his aniagonist 



616 LIFE OF AARON BITRR. 

with respect, styling him " General Hamilton," and doing par- 
tial justice to his merits. "Was Hamilton a gentleman?" 
asked a foreigner once in Burr's hearing. Bnrr resented the 
question, and replied with hauteur: " Sir, / met him." 

He told an anecdote relating to the duel, of Avhich the fol- 
lowing is the purport. On a journey, while slopping at a tav- 
ern to bait his horses, he strolled into the village, and saw a 
traveling exhibition of wax-works. To amuse an idle moment, 
he entered. Among the figures were two representing Hamil- 
ton and himself in the act of firing. The figures were vilely 
executed, and the exhibition was made the more ridiculous 
by some doggerel which the ambitious exhibitor had scrawled 
underneath. With some difficulty lie made it out, as follows: 

" Burr, Burr, what hast thovi done ? 
Thou hast shooted dead great Hamilton. 
You hid behind a bunch of thistle, 
And shooted liim dead with a great boss pistol." 

He told this story just as any one would have told it, and 
laughed at the lines as heartily as any of his auditors. 

He was sui-prised, one day, to receive the following e})istle, 
wliich is here transcribed from the original : " Aaron Burr : 
Sir, Please to meet me with the weapon you chuse on the 15 
of may where you murdered my father at 1 o'clock with your 
second. 8 May 1819. J. A. Hamilton." To which he wrote 
a reply like this: "Boy, I never injured you : nor wished to 
injure your father. A. Burr." On reflection, however, he 
thought it best not to notice the communication, and tore up 
his reply. He was afterward informed that the letter was a 
forgery. 

There was one remarkable occasion on which he spoke of 
the duel seriously and eloquently. It was when, for the only 
time in his life, he revisited the ground where it was fought. 
He went there to oblige a young friend, who wished to see a 
spot so famous. Leaving their boat at the foot of the heights 
of Weehawken, just where Burr had left his boat on that fatal 
morning a quarter of a century before, they climbed over the 
same rocks, and soon reached the ground. Except that the 



ANECDOTES AND R E M T N I S C E N C E 8. 617 

rocks were covered with names, and that the ground was 
more overgrown with trees, the place had not changed in all 
those years : nor has it yet. It had changed owners, how- 
ever, and belonged to a son* of Rufus King, Burr's colleague 
in the Senate, and Hamilton's friend and ally. In the boat 
Burr had been somewhat thoughtful and silent, but seemed 
to enjoy the bright day and pleasant shores, as he always en- 
joyed bright and pleasant things. On reaching the scene, he 
placed his companion on the spot where Hamilton had stood, 
and went to the place where he had stood himself, and pro- 
ceeded to narrate the incidents of the occasion. 

The conversation turned to the causes of the duel. As he 
talked, the old fire seemed to be rekindled within him ; his 
eye blazed ; his voice rose. He recounted the long catalogue 
of wrongs he had received from Hamilton, and told how he 
had forborne and forborne, and foi-given and forgiven, and 
even stooped to remonstrate — until he had no choice except 
to slink out of sight a wretch degraded and despised, or meet 
the calumniator on the field and silence him. He dwelt much 
on the meanness of Hamilton. He charged him with being 
malevolent and cowardly — a man who would slander a rival, 
and not stand to it unless he was cornered. " When he stood 
up to fire," said Burr, " he caught my eye, and quailed under 
It ; he looked like a convicted felon." It was not true, he 
continued, that Hamilton did not fire at him ; Hamilton fired 
first yf he heard the ball whistle among the branches, and 
saw the severed twig above his head. He spoke of what 
Hamilton wrote on the evening before the duel with infinite 
contempt. " It reads," said he, " like the confessions of a pen- 
itent monk." These isolated expressions, my informant says, 
convey no idea whatever of the fiery impressiveness with 
which he spoke. He justified all he had done ; nay, applaud- 
ed it. 

He was moved to the depths of his soul : the pent-up feel- 
ings of twenty-five years burst into speech. His companion, 
who had known him intimately many years, and had never 

* James G. King, for many years a great New York banker. 

f Burr's second asserted the same thing, and maintained it to the laat 



618 LIFE OF AARON BURR. 

seen him roused before, was almost awe-struck at this strange 
outburst of emotion, and the startling force of many of his ex- 
pressions. He remembers wondering that he should ever have 
thought Burr small of stature, for, during this scene, the lofti- 
ness of his demeanor was such, that his very form seemed to 
rise and expand. It was long before he regained his usual 
composure. All the way home he still spoke of the olden 
time, and seemed to renew his youth, and live over again his 
former life. 

While upon this subject, I may introduce a specimen-false- 
hood which has had currency, and is actually narrated in a re- 
cent volume purporting to be a Life of Alexander Hamilton. 
" Only once, during the progress of Mrs. Hamilton's life," says 
the work referred to, " was she afflicted with the sight of Ler 
husband's murderer. In the year 1822 she was traveling from 
New York to Albany on one of the boats on the Hudson river. 
The company had been summoned to dinner. When Mrs. 
Hamilton had almost reached her seat in the dining-saloon, on 
raising her eyes she perceived Aaron Burr standhig directly 
opposite to her, with the narrow width of the table alone be- 
tween them. The shock was too much for her system, she 
uttered a loud scream, fell, and was carried in a fainting state 
from the apartment. As soon as she recovered, she insisted 
on being set on shore at the first landing-place. She refused 
to journey further on a vessel which contained the detested 
form of Aaron Burr. It is said that after the removal of Mrs. 
Hamilton from the dining-saloon. Burr deliberately sat down 
and ate a hearty dinner with the utmost composure." 

The gentleman is still living, a well-known member of the New 
York bar, and a gentleman of unquestionable veracity, who was 
Burr's companion on the only occasion on which he and Mrs. 
Hamilton were ever together on board a steamboat. He informs 
me — which of course is evident enough — that this fine story 
is false in every particular. It was a small steamboat plying 
between New York and Manhattanville, on which the awk- 
ward renconter occurred. Mrs. Hamilton merely looked at 
Burr, as every body else looked at him; for he never went 
anywhere without being an object of universal attention. 



ANECDOTES AND REMINISCENCES. 619 

N'othing iimisual took jylace ! All the passengers landed to- 
gether at Manhattanville, and there was never any dinner 
eaten by passengers on board the boat. The universally- 
known fact that Mrs. Hamilton was not a fool, would of itself 
refute the story, one would think. Yet we find it printed and 
reprinted. It is a fair specimen of the stories told to the 
injury of Burr's reputation. Not one in ten is truer. It got 
into the-papers in Burr's life-time, and he frequently referred 
to it, in illustrating his favorite topics — the deceptiveness of 
probabilities, and the inevitable falseness of the thing com- 
monly called History. 

Another story he used to tell in the same connection. The 
belief that he was the " deadest of dead shots," was univer- 
sal throughout the country ; whereas the fact was that he had 
had very little practice in all his life, and was only tolerably 
skilled in the use of the weapon. Phrenologists and sports- 
men tell us that some men are good shots by nature. Burr 
was one of these ; and the steadiness of his nerves gave hira 
an advantage. But to the story. He was at Utica, attend- 
ing the session of a court, at Avhich there was a great con- 
course of lawyers. One afternoon, after the court had ad- 
journed, a number of the younger members of the bar went 
into a field behind the court-house to fire pistols at a mark. 
After firing awhile, seeing Colonel Burr pass by, they invited 
him to join in the sport, all of them being extremely anxious 
to witness an exhibition of his renowned ability. lie protested 
his want of skill, and bogged oflT: but as they were very ur- 
gent, he at last consented. A pistol was handed him, where 
he stood, and, looking around for a mark, he said " There is a 
white knot in that post yonder; shall I fire at that?" It was 
about sixteen paces distant. He raised his pistol, took careful 
aim, and fired. The ball struck the exact center of the knot. 
It was a wonderful hit, and astonished no one so much as the 
individual Avho achieved it. He was urged to fire again, but 
having no wish to tarnish his easily-won honors, he retired 
from the field. On his Avay back through the wilderness to 
Albany, he stopped in a lonely place to water his horse, when 
the thought occurred to him to try what he could really do 



620 LIFK OF AARON BITRK. 

with a pistol. Ho fired several shots. " I couldn't hit a 
barn-door,"" he would say ; '' but was there a man that saw me 
make that hit at Utica who could be persuaded that A. B. 
was not a dead shot ?" 

Other instances he gave from his own experience, in which 
lie had been thought a necromancer, or possessed of a devil, 
merely from some accidental conjunction of circumstances, or 
by the use of means the most ordinary and obvious. 

The interest which Colonel Burr took in the education of 
youth has been before alluded to. He always had a protege 
in training, upon whose culture he bestowed unwearied pains 
and more money than he could always atford. The story of 
Vanderlyn, the most distinguished protege he ever had, was 
one which was ot\en related in these later years. 

He was riding along in a curricle and pair, one day during 
his senatorial term, Avhen one of his horses lost a shoe ; and 
he stopped at the next blacksmith's to have it replaced. It 
was a lonely country place, not tar from Kingston, in Ulster 
county, New York. He strolled about while the blacksmith 
was at work, and, returning, saw upon the side of a stable 
near by, a charcoal drawing of his own curricle and horses. 
The picture, which must have been executed in a very few 
minutes, was wonderfully accurate and spirited, and he stood 
admiring it for some time. Turning round, he noticed a boy 
a little way oft', dressed in coarse homespun. 

" "Who did that '?" inquired Burr, pointing to the picture. 

" I did it," said the bov. 

The astonished traveler entered into conversation with the 
lad, found him intelligent, though ignorant, learned that he 
was boin in the neighborhood, had had no instruction in 
Urawing, and was engaged to work for the blacksmith six 
months. Burr wrote a tew words on a piece of paper, and 
s.iid, as he wrote : 

"My boy, you are too smart a fellow to stay here all your 
life. If ever you should want to change your employment 
and see the world, just put a clean shirt into your pocket, 
iio to Xew York, and go straight to that address," handing 
the boy the paper. 



ANKODOTKS AND U TC M I N I S C K N O K fl . 021 

He then mounlod hia cuniclo mikI \v:is out of siujlit in :i nio- 
nu'iit. Severul moiitlis pusMcd ;i\v;iy, mikI I lie circimistinuM) 
had lu'.'irly fiidcd (Voiiv tho busy sciiatoi's icfollci'lioii. As ho 
was sittiiii;' at hroaklast oiio morning-, at Iv'urliinoiid Hill, asorv- 
aiit put into his hand a small pajn'i- paiccl, saying that it was 
hriMinht by a bi)y who was waiting outsido. liurr (ipciicil iho 
parcel, and found a coarse, country-niado clean shirf. Sup- 
posing it to bo a mistake, ho ordered the boy to be shown in. 
Who should enter but tlu; (^enius ol'the Ivoadsich', who placed 
in Hun's hand th" identical piece of pa])er he had given him. 
The lad was warmly welcomed, iliiii- took him into his fam- 
ily, oducated him, and procured him instruct ion in th(( art 
which nature liad indicated should be the occupation of his 
lifetime. Afterward, liurr assisted him to Europe, where lie 
spent fivi> years in the study ol" painting, and became :ni artist 
worthy of the nanu". 

While Uurr hims(>lf was wandering in l<'uropo, Vanderlyn 
was exhibiting |)ictures in tlie Louvre, at Paris, and receiving 
from Napoleon a gold medal, besides compliments and felicit- 
ations from the em[)eror\s own lips. Vanderlyn did all ho 
coidd for his benefactor in Paris; but nnhappily he had the 
successful artist's usual foituno — poverty embittered by glory. 
He atlerward had commissions from Congress, and painttMl 
the well-known " Landing of Cohnnbus" for a i)am'l in the 
rotunihi of the Capitol at Washington. Ho also painted the 
portraits of Colonel Burr anil Theodosia from which the en- 
gravings were taken by which their lineaments are now known 
to the public. Vanderlyn died only five years ago at Kings- 
ton, near the spot where ho drew the charcoal sketch which 
decided his career. 

BiuT was fond of children to weakness. Li walking about 
the Battery or the Park, which in those days used to swarm 
with nurs(>s and children, he would often stop to speak to a 
pretty child. Xlo has fretpuMitly emptied his pockets of all the 
change ho had in giving pieci'S of nu)iu>y to the children and 
their attendants. Li his ollice, ho maik' a point of always 
keeping a supply of snuill coins expressly for children. A 
lady tells mo that she has known him to send out a ten dollar 



622 LIFE OF AAKOX BURR. 

bill and get it all changed into live, six, ten, and twelve cent 
pieces, in order that he might be sure to have one to give her 
every time she said her lesson with the required degree of ac- 
curacy. Particularly fond of educating girls, he was far in 
advance of his tiu\e in the liberality of his ideas on that sub- 
ject. His maxim was, that the aptitudes given by nature to 
each child should be cultivated without regard to sex. Ac 
cordingly, he had one of his female proteges, who exhibited 
a talent for music, taught the violin, both because it is the 
most perfect of instruments, and because the girl showed a 
remarkable fondness for it. Another girl acquired under his 
teaching a sutVicient knowledge of Greek to read the Xew* 
Testament in that language with some tluency. 

Yet it appears he had a horror of hearing women talk 
\ipon politics, and would never permit the topic to be intro- 
duced in their presence, if he could prevent it. 

*•* That man," said he one day of a stranger who had just 
left the room, '' is no gentleman." 

" "Why not ?'' exclaimed the ladies; in .1 chorus. 

" Because he introduced politics before hidies," answered 
Burr. 

"But, colonel, have ladies no sense, then'?'' inquired one 
of them. 

With a smile, he said in his soft whispering way, " All sense, 
madame ; yet it is better to talk sweet little nothings to 
them." 

llis feniale proteges usually became agreeable and estimable 
women, and did well in life. The young men whom he edii- 
cated were too apt to copy his faults, instead of his virtues; 
particularly his worst fault, which was a reckless genei-osity 
in the use of mone3\ Some of them passed tlieir lives in pe- 
cuniary ditficultics, which a little self-denying prudence in the 
beginning of their career might have enabled them to avoid. 
Others, however, escaped those degrading miseries, and are 
at this moment prosperous gentlemen. One of these I ad- 
dressed in the following manner : 

'• You were intimately associated with Colonel Burr during 
the vears when vour character was forming, and he must hav 



ANECDOTES AND RKMINISOENCES. 023 

influenced you powcrI\illy. Looking back a quarter of a cen- 
tury, do you think lie inlluonced you beneficially?" 

" I am sure lie did," was the reply. 

" What particular effect did his character produce upon 
yours ?" I asked. 

The einphalic reply was : " TZd made me iron /" 

A lady said to me : " I never ask and never answer an im. 
pertinent question ; I was brought up in the limi' school.''^ 

There are some pleasant recolleclions of Colonel liurr re- 
corded in a recent work, entitled "The Autobiogia])liy of a 
Blind Minister," by the Rev. Timothy Woodbridge, i). D., a 
grandson of Jonathan Edwards, and one of Burr's cousins. 
"In the summer of 1819," says Dr. Woodbridge, "I met my 
cousin Aaron Burr, at the house of our common uncle, Hon. 
Timothy Edwards, in Stockbridge, This was the first time he 
bad visited our uncle, for whom he had a profoMiid reverence, 
since his return from Europe. 

*' Burr is a conspicuous character in American history ; arid, 
as I felt the most intense curiosity to make his acquaintance, 
and study his mind, I had several interviews with him during 
this visit of two or three days. His conversation was instruct- 
ive and fascinating, and, joined to his bearing, conveyed to 
my mind the impression that he was made by the God of Na- 
ture to put forth a commanding agency in human aflfairs. His 
language was clear as light. His conversation was senten- 
tious and condensed, and I never knew a man convey as much 
meaninji" in as few words. I heard hira sketch the character 
of a number of our revolutionary patriots and heroes in a won- 
derfully graphic manner, and I thought liim a great moral 
painter. 

" My uncle told me tliat, after Burr came home from his 
Canadian cami)aign, he described to him the character of Ben- 
edict Arnold. ' Arnold,' said Burr, ' is a perfect madman in 
the excitement of battle, and is ready for any deeds of valor ; 
but he has not a particle of moral courage. He is utterly un- 
principled, and has no love of country or self-resj)ect, to guide 
him. He is not to be trusted anywhere but under the eye of 
a superior officer.' 



624 LIFE OF AAKOX BTKR. 

"The day after Burr left our uncle's I called at the house, 
to talk over the impressions of this unwonted visit. My aunt 
was a venerable and pious woman. 'I want to tell you, cousin,' 
said she, ' the scene I passed through this morning. When 
Colonel Burr*s carinage had driven up to the door, I asked 
him to go with me into the north room, and I can not tell you 
how anxious I felt, as I, an old woman, went through the hall 
with that great m:vn, Colonel Burr, to admonish him, and to 
lead him to repentance. After we were by ourselves, I said 
to him, "Colonel Buir, I have a thousand tender memories as- 
sociated with you. I took care of you in your childhood, and 
I feel the deepest concern over your erring steps. You have 
committed a great many sins against Gx^d, and you killed that 
great and good man, General Hamilton. I beseech you to re- 
pent, and fly to the blood and lighteousness of the Redeemer 
for pardon. I can not bear to think of your being lost, and I 
often pray most earnestly tor yom* salvation." The only reply 
he made to me,' continued the excellent old lady, ' was, " 0, 
aunt, don't feel so badly ; we shall both meet in heaven yet ; 
meanwhile, raav God bless vou.'' He then tenderlv took mv 
hand, and left the house.' " 

He often received, in the coui-se of his life, similar well- 
meant admonitions, and invariably replied to them with thank- 
ftilness and respect. Lettei"S, anonymous and other, reminding 
him of his mother's dying wishes respecting him. and urging 
him to repent, were found among his papers. One of these, 
written by a lady who had known and loved his mother, was 
eloquent and touching. She inclosed a fragment of a letter 
which she had received ft^>m his mother sixtt/ years before, in 
which the most :irdent desires wei-e expressed for the spiritual 
weltare of her inthnt son. "I have often reflected," continued 
the ladv, '*on vour trials, and the fortitude with which vou 
have sustained them, with astonishment. Youi-s has been no 
common lot. But you seem to have forgotten the right use 
of advei-sity. Afflictions fix->m heaven ' are angels sent ou 
embassies of love.' We must improve, and not abuse them, 
to obtain the blessing. They are commissioned to stem the 
tide of impetuous passion ; to check inordinate ambition ; to 



ANECDOTES AND REMINISCENCES. O'JS 

show lis the insignitioanoo of oartlily groat noss ; to woan our 
aftootions from transitory tilings, and olovate tliom to tlioso 
realities whieh are ever blooming at the right haii.l o[' God. 
When atfliotion is thus sanctilied, ' the heart at onee ii hum- 
bles and exalts.' 

"Was it philosophy that supported you in your trials? 
There is an hour approaching when philosophy will fail, and 
all human science will desert you. SVhat then will be your 
subs'titute ? Tell me, Colonel l>urr, or rather answer it to 
your own heart, when the pale nu'ssenger ajipears, how will 
you meet him — ' undamped by doubts, undarkened by de- 
spair ?' 

"The inclosed is calculated to excite mingled sensatioua 
both of a melancholy and pleasing nature. The haiul that 
penned it is now among 'the just made perfect.' Your mother 
had given you up by faith. Have you ever ratified the vows 
she made in your behalf? When she bade you a long fare- 
well, she commended you to the protection of Him who had 
promised to be a Father to the fatherless. 

''The great Augustine, in his earlv vears, was an infidel in 
his principles, and a libertine in his conduct, which his pious 
mother deplored with bitter weeping. But she was told by 
her friends that 'the child of so many prayers and tears could 
not be lost ;' and it was verified to her liappy experience, for 
he afterward became one of the grand luminaries of the 
church of Christ. This remark has often been aj>plied to you; 
and I trust you will yet have the happiness to tiud that ' the 
prayers of the righteous' have ' availed much.' " 

Burr was no scotfer. He was desirous, while condemning 
the severe theology of his fathers, not to be thought an unbe- 
liever. A lady intbrms n\e that if he chanced to enter a 
room while she was hearing her children say their prayers, he 
would stand silent in an attitude of reverence till the exercise 
was done. He occasionally went, with a lady, to the Episcopal 
church, and would have gone oftener but for his imi>atience of 
a dull or denunciatory sernuMi. As he was coming out of St. 
John's one tine Sunday afternoon, his companion asked him 
what he thought of the sermon, which had borne hard upon 

27 



errittg mortal*, " I think." s^kl lux " that Gx>^i v;^ a gi>?at vU\%l 
Wttor ths^\ tHN>[>it> $«pjHv«^\ ly J^t lt>*st> suu a WVunov in his 
gvVvUiOiSs* I sav with Po^v : 

SsjKHxr^? K» t^ *s Wx\<!i!!«\t »* tKnt vMwvi!? K\*r: 



Ho thought the BiVxlo to bo bv tju' tho «\o$t v^hiablo of 
bcH.>k>i^ aiul adxuiiwi tho IVahw* of Oavui jv>rtio»ihvrlY. 0« 
boiHiT askovito naiuo his tavorito authoi-siu tho o»\Un- in whioh 
ho i'^ttvm^.xl thoiw. ho ivj^iovl: "Tho KibU\ of oour^o, it is thffi 
Book J at\or that, Sh,^tNsjK\u\\ Uurus, 1V|,h\ Uo havi littlo 
rt>li^, in his lator yoju-^ fv>r tho >Vn\oh anthot^ who had 
ploa^stvi him sv> mvioh in hijs youth. Uo usod to ^»y of Koiis^oau 
that ho wa* woU namovl "a solf-tortvuinji ojivtist," Ho ftls^o 
outgrow ai\Y fonviuo$* l\o nuu havo had for VoUaiiv. Of hi? 
auot>$tor. ♦K>nathsHn VMwaniss ho u^od ot\ou to sav that h« 
*" was tho oloaro^t hoavl of Amorioa, How tho raot> has do 
gvnoratod," ho would say, with a hiunowus shrug\ 

As tho yoars ivxssovi, his xvputatiou was juoxv and nuny 
blaekonod by tho idK\ o;Uumuious talos tlxat woro oiivtilatod 
rx>spooting him. Ho lK>tx> it with surprising o\\uaniu\ity. Know- 
ing \Yoll tho uttor hoj^H^lossixoss v^f attomptiug to ivston> hi* 
g\XHl nanvo, ho submittod to tho w»\M»g in siloniH\ and grow 
"' ' almost inditVoivnt to it. For mauY yo:u*s, indotni, ho 

. .ovl tho hopo that tho publioation of his story, at\or his 

doath, wouUi sot all right J»t last, and to soouw^ this w:vs ono 
of his latosl caros. Uut for his own lito-tinvo ho know tho case 
was hojH^U^ss, 

**I don't oaro jr^af thoy s.iy of mo," ho said to ono who 
showoil him a sourrilous jvanigraph ; " thoy u\ay s^jy whatoYor 
thoy ploaso; I lot thorn jilono, 1 only ask to bo lot alono," 

On a similiir occasion, a lady said to him, ">Vhy, colonol, 
if ihoY \\oro to accuse you of murder, 1 don't thhvk youM 
deny it," 

Ho ropUod, " O, uo, my ohiivl. why should 1? ^Yh:U gt^od 
would it do? EYory u\au likes his own opinion best, Uo m:»j' 



AH KChor Ki', k n u hk>/i i ft inf.KHcitn. c/zl 

not }»Jiv<; n hiiH'Jr<;'J thouM/'iD'J cJollar>», but h<; hax hiu Of/irn/'/n, 
A tfintt^H opinion Jn hix pri'h-,, hi« w<;alt,h, litfovM'. An Wr sim. I ara 
cjnu'.crui'A^ th<;y may \u<\u\^t; in any opinion th*ry choo**?." 

O/i'; 'J.'ty in }iiH ofIic<;, a j^<;nlJ«?rnan in\kt'A in tJi<; iwual halt 
tru<; ni?infi«;r of tlx; <;vi)H of war. iJurr rcrnnrkcA, 

" SI»in'J<;r i/a« filain rnor<j than th<; Hword." 

To a fji^in'J who ccuwtrcA hirn for allowinj^ >t^* many hun- 
dr<;d» of injurionH para^raphH to drcu)at<; without c/mirtuWf/- 
tion, fi<; rf;pli«;'J that h<j }ia/l iorrnarly n\x]f\)i)n*A that hi« diar- 
a<;t<;r waw hIkhi^^ (•-nonj.4i to h<:ar «uch p<;tty a»>.Hij|t*., Jind h<; 
lia'l r<;lt \\\uwM' v,i\'n in tn;atinj.^ th*;m with cont<;mpt. " ii»jt,»» 
h«; a'l'h;d, "/ r<;ar I tiav<; i;<,iiiinU,uA a j(r<;at <;rror; the m<m 
who knew th<;ir falxity ar<j mo>»tly d<;ad, and the generati^m 
who now read them may take them for truth*, being nnr'/zri' 
tradi'Jed. I adr/iit f have cy;mmitted a capita) error, but it i* 
too late to repair it," 

" f'oor IJurr !" exclaimed the recorder of the remark l^t 
quoted, " he wa« a man of many griefs ; but he wa« a child of 
geniuH — a brave, intellerrt-ual, brilliant man — and ha^l within 
binixelf many of the noblext qualitie«, which adorn hi« ^y-.f'u-M. 
But he had )ii«< weakneK«e«, and hitj petty vicen in a/Jdition. 
Who han not? He wa<i the vi^rtim of a c/>rnh'mAUon of cir- 
cAitnniHucAsn, rather than of bin own fault." 

Occassional ly, iJurr'H reviler» would receive a telling rebuke. 
One of hin EngliHh friendx, a r^^lonel in the liritinh army, came 
t(^ thi« country witfi hiH wife and daughters, and hastened to 
renew bin acquaintance with (/olonel Jlurr, A few day« afu,-r 
hih arrival, fw^me oflicioux individual* tr> whom he ha/i brought 
letter*, and who had twien liurr walking in the street with him 
and liiw party, felt themnelvcH called upon to put the stranger 
on hin giutrd. 

" Iteally, (Jolonel , you mustn't know iiurr," naid one 

of thcHc friendly provincial*. " No one in *ociety think* of 
knowing IJurr ; he i* held in a kind of abhorrence. I wouldn't 
for the world have my wife and daii^hter* *een «peaking with 
him." 

" Wouldn't you," H.aid the jolly Briton; "for our part, we 
think Colonel iJurr'* a^;quaintance a privilege and an honor.'* 



C2!^ 1 I K K OF A A K O N U I' K K . 

" KlU," snid juuMhor vtf tho otVunovis onos. " Aavoii l>\>vv is 
tho grov-JtOv^t villain on oarih." 

"(.^onilonion," was tho soUliov'.x vnnot ivply, "wo h'ke vil- 
lains," ;uui turnod on Ins hool. 

Kurr hinisoir \v;\s }>rovokod onoo to notioo a public alVront, 
It was at .l.unnion, oti l.ot\ji' lsl;»n«l, whon ho was a vow old 
man, on ono of tho last occasions ot' his a|>pcari»\_ii; in a oouvt- 
room. Tho news o( his conung pvocodcvi hin\, anvl such was 
tho general vlosiro to sec so ronownovi a chavactor, that tho 
schools w ore viisn\issovl, and people walked tnany miles to at- 
tend the court. A 1;nvyer, tit\y ye;\rs his jimior, thought to 
n^ako capital tor himselt' by r<>vmdly abusitig Colonel Uuvr in 
his opening speech. i")n vising to reply. Cv^louel Hurr. in his 
very blandest tones, s.aid, 

" 1 learned in the Kevolution, in the society ot' gentlemen, 
and 1 have since observed tor mvsell', that a tnan who isguiltv 
ot' intentional bad manners, is capable of erinie.'' 

The renxark is not a very striking otio, but it is said to have 
produced a great etVeot upon tho auditors, and to havo com- 
pletely quelled the young lawyer's insolence. The manner ol" 
the nvan must have been powerlul in the extreme, tor so n\any^ 
of his words to be ren\cmbered alUM' the lapse o( so many 
years. 

«.>nc ol" Hurr\s law-partners relates aii anecdote which also 
shows how his words cling to the n\en\ory oC those who heard 
them. Tho circumstance occurred about t'oriy-two years ago. 
A gontUMnan otnered the otiice and brought the news that a 
tVictid of t\>lonel l>urr\s who had at a critical jicriovi written a 
pamphlet in his vindication, had lallen dead in the street a tew 
houi^s botbro. 

*' Po me the lavor," said Uurr, turning to his partner, *' to 
send tor a carriage ; we must go and vsec how this is !''• 

On reaching the house, they tound the l;unily \n great dis- 
tress, and the sheriff in possession o\' the body for a debt of 
two hundred and tit\y dollars. 

Looking upon tho trice of the dead n\an. Ibur said, 

"This may be law, but it is not Christian charity !" 

Turning to his partner, who was the cashier of the concern. 



A N Tc n T ir, tt A N n iiKM J N inoKN nnn. f529 

lit" fiddcfl, "Tliirt rniiKf, not f/n on. Tliia mriri must, fnt biiriofl. 
You liuv(! IIh) mofir!y ni' (,li(! |)iiv,'il,(;(;rMrri<'ri (cJionlH) in yfMir 
liatifh; pfiy tho ddit. 

IIIk jn-iidont pfirtnor rl(!rriiirr(!(l, Haying tho rrion<;y rnirrjit, |,f) 
c'llh'd Coi- boforo tlioy conid i«!plfico it." 

"Sir," roplic'd Burr with dociKiori, " f,li;it man onoo did rno 
fi kindricHH ; ^ivo Umrn th<i rnorif-y !uid I will borrow sm much 
tomorrow of the l»lru;k j*rin(!0." 

Th« body wuh dfOivercd, and both FJnrr and liin partner at- 
tcndcfd tlui CiiMcrMl. JJIack I'rincc was tho nickname of one 
of l>irrr'H Ktaiineh frieridH. 

Ah he ^rew older, tho habit oi' indincriminate f^ivinr:; f/raw 
upon him to a inoHt remarkable dej^ree, J^iirin^ lii.s more 
active yeai's ho UHiially had a ((artricr who mana//ed the finan- 
cial afJairH of tho (irm ; for ho waH not (it liimHcIf' to have tho 
control of money, and he knew it, Thoro wore coHain claims 
upon liini whiefi he eoiild neve.r resiMt. Old MoldierH of tho 
llevoliition and their children, men who had lost by th<! fail- 
iii'o of the o?fpedition and tlieir f,fiildren, m(!n wJio liad Htood 
by him to the luHt in his |(olifi<%'d (;areer and their children, 
were tho people who Imd but to apply to him for aH.siHtanco, 
to ;^'et from hitn, if neccHHary, his last d(»llar. Ijterally, liiH 
last dollar ; nay, hi« last cent ; for ho has been known to ex- 
amine all liis pocketH and drawers, and bestow every coin ho 
could find upon a needy friend. 

When ho receiv(!d a sinn of mon(!y of his own, ho used to 
make a kind of well of l>ooks for its r<!ception in i]><; middle 
of his lar^e, crowded table; anfJ then lu(;ky was the af>plicant 
who made the first claim upon it! He gave, and gave, and 
gave, until the well ran dry, and was filled in again with law 
papers and books; when, too often, a creditor would present 
iiinmelf, and go away agaifi disappointed. " iJurr was not a 
man," says one who knew more; about his p(!cuniary affairH 
and habits than any body else, " to loorr// about a debt, though 
he liked 1o pay when ho could." A creditor would say, 

"This bill has been running a long time, colonel." 

"it has indeed," ho W(juld rf^[»ly. 



680 L I F K OF A .\ K N Ft U R R . 

'• I should like to have the mouoy," iho oroditor would oon- 
tiuuo, 

"And I should like to jviy you," the oolonol wouUi rojoin. 

And if, when the applicant o^vllod ajjAin, thoro wa-^ uionoy iu 
tho well, ho tcouhf pay it with ploasuro. Xovor was there a 
front door in Xow York so hesot with solicitors tor cliavity as 
his. To avoid the rush of suitoi-s, ho removed at one tin\e to 
Jersey City, thinking that the obstacle of the river would, .at 
least, diminish the crowd of applicants. He i^esided there tor 
some yeai-s. These ceaseless liifts it was, that made him an 
extravagant maii, and kept him poor. Upon hin\self he spent 
Uttle. He lived chietly upon tish, bread, weak cotVee, claret 
and water, and other simple articles. He could scarcely have 
had a clerk whose personal expenses were so little as his 
own. 

Hea|.^s of miscellaneous ]>ieces of paper from Burr's desks 
and drawei-s, have been otVered to nvy inspection; they show 
how constantly he was solicited for pecuniary aid, and how 
fivqnently that aid w:v5 aftorded. Xotes pay.able to hin\ that 
have never been paid ; applications tor small loans ; acknowl- 
edguients of money borrowed ; thanks for similar tavors ; 
fill up the interstices between larger documents. He couid 
not sav No, at last. He could scarce! v choose but irive. 

An anecdote ix^lated to me by the wife of one of l>urr's 
partnei-s will serve to illustrate i»is infirmiti/ with regard to 
the use of nVOney. He may have been seventy-tive yeai"s old 
when the circumstances took place. The lady chanced to be 
sitting in the othce one morning, when l>urr received a large 
amount of money in bills, iind as his habits with regard to 
money had ot\eu been the subject of remark in the house, she 
watched his proceedings with curiosity. She saw him tirst 
take a law-book from aiv upper shelf, put a tirty dollar note 
boiween its leaves, and replace the book on the shelf. The 
rest of the money he deposited in the middle of his table, as 
usual. He had on that morning an extraordinary concourse 
of begging visitors, of whom no one seemed to go empty 
away, and by three o'clock in the al\ enioon the well was ex- 
hausted. An hour later, Colonel Burr looked at his watch, 



ANKODOTES AND RK M 1 N I 8 CEN C E8. 631 

Bpran^' from Win chair, and began haHtlly to pack big portman- 
teau with law-papers, in preparation for a journey to Albany, 
where he had husiness with the courts. When he wan ready, 
?)e If^oked into Jiiw receptaf,le for money and discovered tliat it 
waH empty. An examination of his pockets produced only a 
few coins. 

" JilesH rae 1" he exclaimed, " I have to go to Albany in half 
an hour, and have no money/?' 

C'ovld mndnma lend him ten dollars? JVfadarne could not. 
Would madame ohlif^e him by step|>inf^ over and asking her 
good mother to lend him the amount ? Maflame was of opin- 
ion that her good mother would not lend Colonel Burr any 
more money. He was at his wit's end. At length she said, 

*' P.ut, colonel, what are you going to do with the fifty dol- 
Inr hill in that })Ook yonder?" 

" ! I forgot," he said ; " I put it there this morning on 
purpose. What a treasure you are to remind rae of it !" 

The year 1829 saw General Jackson President of the United 
States. He was not unmindful of his old friends of 1806. To 
.Somuel Swartwout he gave the collectorship of New York. 
He could not do any thing openly for C(»loncl Jiurr, as his 
early connection with that -terrible person had been one of the 
strong points made against him during the canvass. But he 
did grant him favors indirectly ; he gave commissions and 
minor appointments to several of Burr's friends and proteges, 
at liurr's personal request. He also had a secret interviriw 
with Burr in New York when he made his first triumphal 
visit to the metropolis. At a later date, however, the general 
played his old confederate a sorry trick — as shall now be 
briefly related. 

About the year 1828, an act of Congress was passed, pro- 
viding for the relief and remuneration of certain revolutionary 
soldiers. Besides having received no pay for his services in 
the Uevolution, Colonel Burr had expended considerable sums 
in aid of the cauHc, and, in fact, througfi his connection with 
the army, had lost the greater part of his inheritance. His no 
counts had never been settled. Old age was now upon him. 
He had a revolutionary pension of six hundred dollars a year, 



632 LIFE OF AAEON BUKB. 

and two annuities, yielding about fifteen hundred more ; but 
with his habits and debts, this income was insufficient, and he 
had a dread of being a poor old man. He therefore prepared 
a statement of his expenditures during the Revolution, and 
made a claim, under the new act, for the sum, with interest, 
the amount being nearly one hundred thousand dollars. Be- 
fore proceeding, he submitted his case to two or three of the 
first lawyers of New York and New Jersey, who pronounced 
his claim just, and within the provisions of the act. To make 
assurance doubly sure, he intrusted the business to a special 
atrent, a o-entleman who had studied law in his office, who 
spent some months in Washington urging the claim. From 
this gentleman I obtained the stoiy. 

The papers were duly presented to the Secretary, who soon 
rejected the claim on the ground that the applicant had not 
served to the end of the war, as the act required. Not dis- 
heartened, he asked time to show that, though he had re- 
signed before the end of the war, yet he had done service, at 
General Washington's request, after his resignation, and had 
served as long as there were actual hostilities in the States 
where his regiment was stationed. His illness, too, in conse- 
quence of his exertions at Monmouth, had alone caused his res- 
ignation. New evidence was obtained, to which Burr added 
a masterly argument, and the case was again laid before the 
department. "i?(3S adjudlcatur,'''' was the prompt reply of a 
new Secretary. The agent succeeded, however, in inducing 
the official to admit further argument, and the case reposed 
for awhile in the departmental pigeon-holes. 

Burr now brought his peculiar tactics to bear. In answer 
to inquiries, he learned that the Secretary had two daughters, 
one of whom was sought in marriage by a young lawyer who 
held an appointment in one of the government offices. Retain 
him^ wrote Burr, and olier him ten thousand dollars to get 
the claim allowed. This was done. The case having now a 
powerful friend at court, made evident progress in the Secre- 
tary's good opinion, and, in all probability, the money would 
have been obtained, but for a most unlooked-for occurrence. 
As the Secretary entered the President's room at the White 



ANECDOTES AND REMINISCENCES. 633 

House, one morning, he was greeted by General Jackson with 
the following observations : 

" Mr. ," roared the general, " I understand that Colonel 

Burr has an application before your department. Don't have 
any thing to do with it, sir. There's rascality in it, sir." 

Nothing remained for the luckless agent but to pay his 
hotel bill and go home. On hearing the issue of the business, 
Burr expressed no resentment whatever against the general, 
attributing his interference solely to the supposed necessities 
of his political position. Among those who did what they 
could to promote Colonel Burr's just claim on thfs occasion, 
were members of the celebrated Biddle family of Pennsyl- 
vania, whose early fortunes he had taken great interest in ad- 
vancing. 

"Jackson," Colonel Burr would say, "possesses all the 
attributes of a President fit to rule such a people. He is a 
man of an iron will — a will of pure well-wrought iron — no 
base cast metal." 

" Is he a scholar ?" some one asked. 

" It is not necessary," replied Burr, " for the President of 
the United States to be a scholar. Andrew Jackson does not 
rule by books ; he is a man of sound sense, and rules by will." 

Jackson's famous oath, " By the Eternal," was a by-word in 
Burr's house long before it became familiar to the public. He 
afterward changed it to " By General Jackson," and so swore 
many a time ; for, with all his good temper, he needed, and 
always had by him, a convenient expletive or two. 

A cheerful, active, hale old man was Aaron Burr ; none 
more so ever lived on this crowded, busy island. Young men, 
spirited women, new books, new events, new inventions, pleas- 
ant excursions, and rare adventures, he enjoyed, and keenly 
enjoyed, down to the seventy-ninth year of his age. He loved 
an open, blazing fire, and all open, bright, pleasant things, and, 
in all companies, was the animating spirit. 

At the age of seventy-eight, we find him writing as follows 
to his partner from Albany : " Arrived this evening between 
six and seven o'clock, having hcen forty -five hours in the stage 

21* 



634 LIFE OF AAKOX BTKK. 

without intermission, except to eat a hearty moal. Stapres in 
very bad order — roads excellent for wheels to Peekskill, and 
thence verv acood sleiixhinij to this citv. The nioht was un- 
oomtbrtahle ; the curtains toni and flying all about^ so that we 
had plenty of fresh air. The tenii was closed this day. Nel- 
son will hold the special court to-morrow morning — have seen 
both Wendell and O'Connor this evening — all ready — came 
neither tatigued nor sleepy." 

A clipping from a Xew York newspaper of some years ago 
gives us a glimpse of the polite old man. as he looked to the 
large eyes of an imaginative boy : 

"Just round the corner (from Broadway) in Reade-street — 
we believe on ground now occupied by Stewart's — was the 
office, for many of the later yeai-s of his life tenanted by 
Aaron Burr. "We. when a boy, remember seeing liim there, 
often. It was a dark, smoky, obscure sort of a double-room, 
typical of his fortunes. Burr had entirely lost caste for thirty 
years before he died. And whatever juay be said of his char- 
acter and conduct, we think nothing can excuse the craven 
me:mness of the many, who, having t^\wned around him in the 
days of his elevation, deserted and reviled him in the at\er- 
time of misfortunes. Burr had much of the bad man ii\ him 
(faith! we\i like to see the human mold that has not), but he 
was dauntless, intellectual, and possessed the warm temper- 
ament of an artist. 

" Yes, we remember well that dry, bent, brown-fj\ced little 
old man, polite as Chesterfield himself, that used to sit by an 
ancient baize table, in the half-light of the dust-covered room 
there — not often with work to do — indeed he generally 
seemed meditating. We can note understand it all, though 
he seemed a strange personage then. What thoughts must 
have burned and whirled through that old man's brain — /jc, 
who came within a vote or two of seating himself as a succes- 
sor of Washinsiton I Even to our boyish judgment then, he 
was invested with the dignity of a historic theme. He had 
all the air of a gentleman of the old school — was respectful, 
self-possessed, and bland, but never familiar. He had seen a 



ANECDOTES AND REMINISCENCES. 635 

hundred men, morally as unscnipulons as himself, more lucky, 
for some reason or other, than himself. lie was down ; he 
was old. lie awaited his fate with Spartan calmness — know- 
ing that not a tear would fall when he should be put under the 
sod." 

A little adventure which he had in one of these last years will 
serve to show how completely he retained the youthful spring 
of his spirits and muscles to an age when old men generally 
are willing prisoners of the arm-chair and chimney-corner. He 
was still living at Jersey City when Fanny Kemble and her 
father played their first engagement in New York. They 
created, as many will remember, a " sensation," and the news- 
papers teemed with articles laudatory of their acting. Burr, 
who took a lively interest in all that was passing, went to see 
them perform in the play of the Hunchback, accompanied by 
a young gentleman, a student of law, to whom I am indebted 
for the story. At that period, the ferry-boats stopped run- 
ning soon after dark, and Burr engaged some boatman to be 
in waiting at the dock to row them back to Jersey after the 
play was over. 

The theater was densely crowded. It was whispered about 
that Aaron Burr was present, and ho was soon the target of a 
thousand eagerly curious eyes ; but no one saluted the man 
who was " severed from the human race." He sat out the 
play, admired the acting of Miss Kemble, remarking, among 
other things, that she "was a fine animal." Meanwhile the 
weather had changed, and by the time they reached their 
boat, an exceedingly violent storm of wind and rain was 
raging, and it was very dark. The waves dashed against 
the wharf in a manner that was not at all inviting to the 
younger of the two adventurers, who advised Burr not to 
cross, 

" Why !" exclaimed the old gentleman, as he sprang lightly 
into the boat, " you are not atiaid of a little salt water, are 
you ? This makes an adventure of it. This is the fun of the 
thing. The adventure is the best of it all." 

His companion embarked, and they pushed off. The waves 
broke over the boat, and drenched them both to the skin in the 



636 LIFE OP AARON BURR. 

first five minutes. On tliey went, against Avind, waves, and 
tide, and, after an hour's hard rowing, Burr all the while in 
hilarious spirits, they reached the shore. 

Such a tough, merry, indomitable old man was Aaron Burr 
ou the verge of fourscore ! 



CHAPTER XXXIY. 

HIS RELATIONS WITH WOMEN. 

"TiiKT Say" — Aneodoth of Wn.nEUFouon — Tim Errokb op M. L. Davis — Tim 
Two Wills of Colonkl Burr — Anecdotes — Letter op Colonel Burr to a 
Young Lady — Tuk Aob of Gallantry — His Influence over Ladies- ilis 
Manners- Causes op iiis Bad Reputation with Regard to Women —Adven- 
tures ON THB Gold Friday — Other Anbodotbs — Bcrb no Beduoeb. 

One morning, near the close of his Hfb, as lie lay upon his 
bed prostrate with paralysis, a lady said to him in a bantering 
way: 

" Colonel, I wonder, now, if you ever loere the gay Lotha- 
rio they say you were ?" 

Tlie old man turned his eyes, the luster of which was un- 
diminished still, toward the friend who made the remark, and 
lifting his trembling finger, said in his quiet, impressive whis- 
per, which still lingers in her eavs, and which brought tears to 
her eyes, twenty years after, as she repeated the words : 

"They say! they say ! tiiby say ! Ah, my chikl, ho\%long 
are you going to continue to use those dreadful words ? Those 
two little words have done more harm than fill others. Never 
use them, my dear. Never use them !" 

Wonderful, past all imagining, are the slanderer's triinnj)h3 
in this good gossip-loving world. Where is the D'IsraeH who 
will glean from history and literature such a startling hook-full 
of the Curiosities and Tragedies of Calumny, as shall teach 
us all never more to believe ill of one another, except upon 
evidence which leaves no rational ground for doubt — a book 
that shall deal the death-blow to that fell destroyer of reputa- 
tions. They say ? 

Almost as I write, this parapraph afloat just now in the 
newspapers, catches ray eye : " Wilberforce relates that at 



CSS LIFE OF AAKOX BTKK. 

one time he fomul himjolf ohronioloil sis *Su TTilborforce^' in 
an opfvsinir jv^wrnal. and tho followinir given as * an instanvv 
of his Pharisaism:' vHo was lately soon/ s;\ys tho journal, 
' walking np and down in tho Kath Pump Koom, roadiug his 
prayers like his proilooossoi^ of old, who prayed in tho 000101-$ 
of the street Ss to be seen of men.' 'As there is generally,' s:\ys 
Mr. AVilbortoroo, 'some slight oiroumstanoo which porvorse- 
ness turns into a charge of ivproach. I bog-:\n to rotioct, and 
soon found tho occasivMi of the calumny. It was this — I was 
■n-alking in the Pump Room, in convoi^\tion with a friend — a 
passage was quoted from Horace, the accuracy of which was 
questiouod, and as I had a Horace in my pocket, I took it out 
and road the woixls. This was the plain ' bit of wire' which 
factious malignity sharpened into a pin to pierce my reputa- 
tion.' How many ugly j^hts: have boon manut;\ctured out of 
even smaller bits of wii^e than even th.at ?'* 

Ay. iudoocl I and not '' pins'' merely, but darts, barbovi and 
poisoned, that torture, rankle, and kill I 

Here, jHnhaps, as oonvcniently as anywhere, may be said 
the little tliat t)iti;?f be said respectiiig the gallantries of Colonel 
Burr : a subject difficult to treat aright, impossible to avoid. 
Xotorions in his life-time for his amours, ,«md made doubly in- 
famous since his death by the statements of a biographer, 
Aaron Burr is now mnver^\lly rog'tirdod as tho greatest mon- 
ster of licentiousness that ever lived ii\ the United States. It 
is no wonder that he is so regarded. On a subject so inter- 
esting to the imagination as illicit love, people always exag- 
gerate. Auvl writei'^ seem to think that the popular way of 
treating it is to ovoi-stato a brother's delinquencies, and shed 
torrents of virtuous indignation over them. That is not the 
co\irse which is going to be pni-^uod on the present occasion. 
As I have .ascertained the truth respecting this matter, and all 
the truth, the truth shall be told, and told with tho addition 
of every palliating circumstance that fairly belong-s to it. The 
task of throwing stones at the sinner sh:vll be letl to those who 
feel themselves to be without sin. 

First, shall be stated what if uot t»"ie respecting Burr's re- 
lations with women. Secondly, *' hat j\* true. 



TI I B K 15 r, A T I O N B VV I I' If W O M K N . 639 

Mr. Maltliow Ij. I);ivis, to wlioin Colonel I>nrr ]<:il his 
pfi[)(!rs and c/jn-osponflciioo, atu] ilic euro of his farno, prcfHCOS 
his work with a fitatcment that las, Cor twenty yoarH, olo«ed 
the ears of his countrymen aj^ainst every word that may have 
been iittenid in Hurr's praiH(! or vindication. "J'ho material 
part of that statement is the; foilowinf^ passa^^e : " Amon^ the 
papers left in my po.ssesHion l)y tlie hite Colonel Jiiirr, there was 
B mass of letters and copies of letters written or received by 
him, lioin lime to time, during a long life, indicating no very 
Btrict morality in some of his female correspondents. These 
letters contained matter that would have wounded the feelings 
of families moi'e extensively than could be imagined. Their 
publication would hav(! had a most injm-lous tendency, and cre- 
ated heart-burnings tluit nothing but time could have cured. 
As soon as tlxjy came under my control T m(!ntioned tlie sidjject 
to ColoiKtl iiurr ; but Ik; prohihitcul the destriu-,tion of any part 
of them during his life-time. I sepaiated them, however, from 
other letters in my possession, and placed them in a situation 
that made their publication next to impossible, whatever might 
have been my own fate;. As soon as Colonel Burr's decease 
was known, with my own hands I committed to the fire all 
such corr(!spondence, and not a vestige of it now remains;f»- 

'J'he imi)ression left upon a reader's mind is, that Aaron 
Burr was indifferent to the fate of such letters; a circumstance 
which would suffice to danin to eternal infiimy the memory of 
any m;m. But, fortunately, the means exist of ])roving that 
Burr expr(!ssly y>rovided for their destruction, and laid upon 
Mr. Jhivis a solemn injunction to that effect ! 

Twice in his life, Aaron Burr, in view of threatened or of 
approaching death, made his will. By the first will, dated on 
the eve of the duel with Hamilton, he consigned liis papers to 
his daughter's care, and, in his farewell letter to her, gave her 
a special charge concerning them. lie told her to " burn all 
such as, if by accident made public, would injure any person. 
This," he adds, " is more particularly a][)plicable to the letters 
of my female correspondents. "" In 1834, when he was seventy- 
nine years of age, he made another will, in which he left his 
papers to Matthew L. Davis, to be used according to his dis- 



640 LIFE OF AARON BURR. 

cretion. To this will, a few months before his death, he added 
a codicil which contains the following words : " I direct that 
all my private papers, except law papers appertaining to suits 
now defending, be delivered to my friend Matthew L. Davis, 
Esq., to be disposed of at his discretion, directing him, never- 
theless, to destroy, or to deliver to parties interested, all such 
as may, in his estimation, be calculated to affect injuriously 
the feelings of individuals against lohom I have no cotn- 
plaintP Of this will Mr. Davis was an executor. How he 
could have brought himself to omit all mention of the injunc- 
tions just quoted, and to assume to himself alone the virtue ot 
destroying the papers, is something inexplicable. 

His statement is objectionable, too, from its indefmiteness. 
He speaks of "a mass of letters and copies of letters." On 
a subject like this, to be vague is to exaggerate. How easy 
to have o-iven the dimensions of the " mass" or the number of 
the letters. Every one knows how soon an ordinary corre- 
spondence, if all the letters are preserved, presents an impos- 
ing " mass" of spoiled writing paper. And it is to be further 
observed, that a man may have a very warm correspondence 
with a lady, may make and receive protestations of attach- 
ment, without incurring or intending guilt. Granting that 
this " mass" of letters was of mountainous bulk, it is still no 
proof of a corresponding criminality. 

" Not a vestige of it now remains," adds Mr. Davis, ex- 
plicitly and positively. That this, too, is an error, I atn in a 
position to prove. After the work of Mr. Davis had been 
published for some time, he not only had a packet of these 
letters in his possession, but lent them to an acquaintance to 
read. The acquaintance referred to is a gentleman eminent 
in character and in station, and one whose word it would be 
insulting the community which honors him to doubt. He has 
himself assured me of the facts. Mr. Davis told him he had 
found this packet after the solemn burning related in his pref- 
ace, and, tossing it upon his friend's desk, gave him permis- 
sion to read the letters. His friend did read a few of them. 
Some of the letters Avere evidently the production of illiter- 
ate women ; but some, written in the French language, were 



HIS RELATIONS WITH WOMEN. 641 

extremely elegant, both in composition and in sentiment. 
Nothing particular is recollected of their contents, except 
that they appeared to be letters of gallantry — as well they 
might-seem to one who carelessly looked over them with a pre- 
vious impression that they were such. Other evidence that 
the letters were not all destroyed opportunely reaches me. 
In Harper's Magazine for July, 1857, the following story de- 
rived from the recollections of the late Hon. John Barney, of 
Maryland, is repeated. Besides showing that the letters 
(one of them at least) were retained and used, it shows the 
cruel injury which Mr. Davis's preface has done to Col. Burr's 
memory : 

" There never," begins the story in Harper, " was a greater 
villain than Aaron Burr — never ! What is written of him — 
what has become history and world talk — is nothing to the 
unwritten, untold deeds of darkness that he was ever perpetrat- 
ing. His whole life was intrigue. Woman was his spoil. He 
lived before the world as an aspirant for power : in social life 
he lived to triumph over the weakness of the sex. His treach- 
ery, his infamous exposure of confidential letters addressed to 
him by ladies of rank and fashion, his utter heartlessness are 
now well known ; but the chapters of his love affiiii-s, if pub- 
lished, will make the most extraordinary revelations that have 
ever yet appeared in connection with the name of this remark- 
able man, 

"The late honest, but poor Matthew L. Davis, his executor, 
received from him, while living, trunks full of feminine cor- 
respondence, by which Burr sought to make Davis's fortime, 
but which were generously returned, without fee or reward, 
to the grateful recipients. 

" Lohbying — now an anomaly — was then in full force. 
Several important bills had passed the New York Legisla- 
ture, and some were so uncharitable as to intimate that im- 
proper influences had been resorted to. Davis was accused of 
being engaged in bringing about a successful result. 

"A lady of rank and fashion condescended — and ladies 
rarely condescend to mingle in any thing out of their appro- 
priate sphere, the limits of the domestic circle — to say hard 



C4U LIFK OF AARON BURR. 

tliiiiiis of l):\vis; she wont so far as to intimate she could 
calmly look on and soo him hunLj;. Davis WH-nt to lior door, 
rang the bell, sent up his name, and was promptly answered 
she was not, and never would be at home to IStr, Davis. 

"'Prav ask her if she has heard from her husband at Ni- 
agara ?' 

"lie was forthwith invited up stairs. The kidy entered in 
trepidation auil alarm. 

'''lias any ealauiity happened to my beloved husband?' 
said she. 

" 'This will explain all,' said Davis, handing her a letttM- in 
her own ehirography, addressed to Coh>nel Aaron Hurr. 

"'Ciood heavons, sir !' said she; *• for what purpose is this 
letter destined to remain in your possession '?' 

" ' Madam, to be disposed of by you, at your own discre- 
tion,' was the rej)ly. 

" ' My kind friend,' exelaimed she, ' how can T ever repay 
such an aet of unparalleled n\agnanimity ? 1, who have 
spoken so mdvindly, so unjustly, oi' so noble a friend !' 

" ' Ever afterward,' said Davis, ' she almost broke her ueek 
in extending her head out o[' the earriage window to greet 
me as she passed.' " 

The lady had reason to be alarnied, though her letter might 
have been innoeent, for, owing to calunmies ai\d exaggera- 
tions, eireulating nneontradieled for half a century, Rurr's 
reputatit>n at length was such as to east a shade of suspicion 
over every woman who had ever been acquainted with him! 

Further. Ibirr's surviving friemls, connections, and near ac- 
quaintances, lunvever they may dill'er in minor particulars, all 
agree in asserting these two things: iirst, that Burr never 
compromised a woman's nanu>, nor spoke lightly i>f a womaiTs 
virtue, nor boasted of, nor mentioned any favors he may have 
received from a woman ; seci>ndly, that of all the nuMi they 
have ever known, /le was the man least capable of such unut- 
terable meamu>ss ! N(^ ]>articnlars of any affair of gallantry 
in which he mav have been engaged could ever be extracted 
from him. lie never talked of them. 

"■Ti'll me, colonel," said a young friend to him a year or 



HIS RELATIONS WITH WOMEN. 643 

two before his death, "tell mc some of yonr pretty love ad- 
venturcH,*' 

A smile stole over his face (for the old man had a strange 
liking to be accused of such things) as he said, shaking his old 
head : 

" No, no ; I never kiss and tell." 

This was his way, when asked such questions. 

Another little scene has been reported to me to illustrate 
his manner on such occasions. He was lying on a couch. A 
friend who was arranging his tnble said to him suddenly. 

" Ah ! colonel, what is this ? Here; is a love-lock." 

TTe looked at it, smiled and nodded, took it into his hands 
and smofjthed it with his fingei's, but said nothing. 

"Whoso hair is that, colonel ?" asked the friend. 

Still fondling it with his fingers he said, smiling, as though 
his recollections of the head from which he may have cut it, 
were very pleasant. * 

" It is very pretty hair." 

" I see it is," said the curious lady, " but whose hair is it ?" 

" It is a lady's hair," he replied. 

" I perceive that," said she, with humorous pertinacity, " but 
I want to know lohose hair it is." 

" Und(jubtedly," said he, with some gravity. 

"But, colonel," «he continued, "I have really a strong de- 
sire to know whose hair that was." 

" I see you have," was all the reply she could extract from 
him. I ■' 

She still persisting, he at length made a reply in such atone 
and manner as to preclude all continuance of the conversation, 
though he spoke with the utmost gentleness. 

"Madame," said he, "it was a lady who was once under 
my protection ; and a woman who has ever been in these arras 
is sacr(^d to me forever." . 

And yet further. Before Mr. Davis received any of Burr's 
letters or papers, they were carefully examined by two per- 
sons, one of them a male relative of Colonel Burr's, and the 
otliei- a lady who had an especial and honorable motive for ex- 
amining ev(!ry one of them — particularly those addressed to 



G44 LIFE OF AARON T. V U K . 

niul received from M'onien. One of these persons still lives; 
her inisilivo and cireunistantml testimony, nddeii to that al- 
ready given, enables nie to assert, what I now do assert, (hat 
Mr. Davis was utterly mistaken as to the character of the letters 
to which he alludes. He received no lette7's iiecessarili/ cTf'm- 
inatiug ladies ! There are persons to whon\ every act of 
gallant attention looks hke an invitation to love. They can 
not conceive of atVection between the sexes free from passion. 
They know very well what turn they would give to such at- 
tachments, if they possessed the power to charm and win (ho 
fiir, and it is but natural they should misinterpret the gahant- 
ries of others. One of the verv reasons oiven bv iMr. Davis 
why he was the man to be intrusted with delicate correspond- 
ence was, that his own life being notoriously incorrect, he 
could not judge harshly another's sins. And in the act of 
making this avowal, he committed, in the most Hagrnnt man- 
ner, the very oifense with which his preface charges Colonel 
Burr. These are facts. It seems lit that they should be stated. 

As illustrating Burr's manner toward women, I will here 
insert a single letter taken from the " mass" of his papers, he- 
fore they fell under the scrutiny of Mr. Davis. I am assured 
that it is a fair sjiecimen. Written in his seventy-fourth year, 
in the neatest, daintiest hand, as legible as print, without a 
blur or erasure, and couched in the language of elegant com- 
pliment which gentlemen used in that day whenever they 
addressed ladies, it is a perfect thing of its kind. It was Ad- 
dressed to a young lady, and explains itself: 

"T have this day heard with concern and astonishment that 
a trilling note, written some days ago, has been the cause of 
very serious displeasure — it was hastily written, never cjpied, 
pcrliaps not even perused, and the particular terms of it are 
not I'ecollected. If, however, it contains any other sentiments 
than those of respect and attaclnnent, they are foreign to my 
heart. 

"That great aftection which I bore your father had been 
transferred to his child — to you I fear the greater portion — 
yet I had known you only as a child — a child indeed of great 
promise — and I was impatient to see you as a woman. I did 



niS RELATIONS WITH WOMEN. 645 

see you. The tone and cadence of your voice, your language, 
every movement, every expression, denoted a superiority 
vi'liicli charmed me. I was overjoyed to iiiiil my IViend so 
faithfully represented in his daugliter. I wished to testify my 
satisfiiction, and having frequently called without seeing you, 
the object of the notewasto express niy admiration, which ap- 
peared to me a tribute of simple justice, and to tender my 
services to escort you — to walk — to view the town, its im- 
provements and curiosities — in short, to put myself at your 
orders. It was done openly — this alone slioitld have exoner- 
ated me from the suspicion of improper views. It was pre- 
sumed that it would, and intended that it should, be read by 
the family, and I amused myself with imagining how much 
they would be pleased to see that, in the midst of so many 
vexatious and distressing circumstances, I could for a moment 
assume the air of playl'ulness and gayety, I had fiincied, too, 
that you might be the subject of some little raillery, as having 
excited this spark of momentai'y animation, 

"It is highly probable that this note may have been writ- 
ten in a style of familiarity not warrantiMl, I acknowledge, by 
any personal acquaintance, but poinitted, I thought, or rather 
felt, for I thought not, by my friendship with your father. 
But this, perhaps, was an error, for you could have no sym- 
pathy with that sentiment, nor knowledge of it, but by cold 
tradition. Yet, if you can call to mind iiow you have ever 
felt in meeting the child of a very dear depaited friend, you 
will cease to censure my presumption. 

"But whatever may have been the levity of the note, I may 
at least claim the privilege of age. At my time of life, one 
may trifle, if not with impunity, certainly Avithout exciting 
alarm, and it would imply, in me, a profound ignorance of the 
woild to mistake you for an object of gallantry, and a most 
ridiculous vanity to presume that I could be a fit pretender 
to favor. 

" A note written with impressions so harmless, and, if my 
opinion had boon of any value, I would have said, so flattering, 
must have been construed with more than monastic rigor to 
have received so unkind a sentence. I hope and believe that 



046 LIFE OF AAKON BURK. 

at somo futuro period you will recollect it with less severity, ;ind 
that you will thou acknowledge without a blush and Avithout 
a iVown, the purity and the delicacy of tliat attachuieut which 
you now so harshly repel. 

" P, S. — Having read this, I au\ not satistied with it, nor do 
I know how better to apologize — but 1 am nnluippy under 
your displeasure. If you be not altogether inexorable, I 
would ask, as an evidence of your forgiveness, a surrender of 
the olleiisive note." 

Tlie letter produced its designed effect. The lady, in spite 
of the remonstrances of those who surrounded lu>r, would 
know her father's friend. She liyes to declare that from Col- 
onel Burr she received only the most ch>licate attentions and 
friendly -ollices. Having imbibed his ideas of the value of 
public opinion, being now, an honored wito and mother, and 
these events being known to none living beyond her own 
circle, she has no motive for concealment, and is incapable of 
misrepresentation. 

Among the letters which Mr. Davis received, there were 
enough to till a volume which proved Uurr's boundless gener- 
osity to women. There is, at this moment, in this city, a 
flourishing seminary, which has grown out ot' a small school 
wiruh was started for two young ladies by him. lie was so 
straitened at the time that, to procure the money necessary 
fof the purchase of tiio desks and chairs, he was obliged to 
pawi\ his watch and sofa. The reci[>ients of his bounty not 
nntVequently cherished an ardent attachment for his person, 
which they expressed in glowing letters. Soon after lie re- 
turned fron\ Europe, a lady who had known and Ioa ed liim in 
better davs, wrote him a long history ot' her fortunes during 
his absence. I will give the conclusion of this letter merely 
to show the manner in which a virtuous woman could write 
to him. She had been soliciting his aid for a relative, and 
thus proceeds : 

" When I consider the miscreants that your goodness has 
raised, your bounty fed, I think it impossible that the power, 
which I am sure vou would so iovtullv exert, should be with- 
held of raising to distinction one so deservingh Those de- 



U 1 8 RELATIONS W f '/ FI WOMEN. G47 

lic;litfiil hours of soul-folt intercourse might then ngain return, 
when, unbending fi'orn the severe duties of society, I was the 
soft green of tAe soul on wliich you loved to repose; and if, 
by enjoying, I can impart ha[)pine3s so exquisite, my heart, 
my disposition, my feelings, my alFections are still the same; 
glowing with the same warmth, animated with the same ar- 
dor. 

"Had I l;een the wife of a prince or a king, I should liavo 
flown to y(ju as soon as your arrival was announced, bongre 
malgrc the royal permission. Hut you will readily conceive 
how much I am the soul of this estaljlishment. So much so' 
am I, that though the city lays before me as if it was painted 
on a map, I am often several months without going to it, and 
am very seldom absent an hour. In August I sliaU give a 
short vacation, and will lly anywhere to meet you, though 
even for a moment. 

" You must expect, my dear friend, to see mo somewhat 
changed. Not the morale — that is unalterable ; but \,\w, phy- 
aique has acquired a great accession of embonpoint, wliicli, 
owing to my height, distributes itself pretty well, so tliat the 
proportions are not lost, but the scale considerably enlarged. 
But this, at the first interview, you will not perceive, nor any 
thing but a devoted creature irradiated with joy. O, I knew 
this hour would come. During your absence it was strongly 
impressed on my mind. In my dreams I Jiave beheld you 
looking benignantly at me ; and something whispered to my 
heart that at length the hour, with feeling fi-aught, would be 
given me ; that ag^in in your presence I should feel that un- 
mixed delight which fi'om you only I have I'eceived — the 
happiness attending the most pure, most ardent, most exalted 
friendship." 

When such letters as these fall into the hands of a certain 
description of men, they receive but one interpretation. 

Other passages of Mr. Davis's work require brief examina- 
tion. " Major Burr," he says, " while yet in college, had ac- 
quired a reputation for gallantry. On this point he was fex- 
cessively vain, and regardless of all those ties which ought to 
control an honorable mind. In his intercourse with females 



648 LIFE OF AARON BURR. 

he was an unprincipled flatterer, ever prepared to talce advan 
tage of their weakness, their credulity, or their confidence. 
She that confided in liini was lost." And again : " It is truly- 
surprising how any individual could have become so eminent 
as a soldier, as a statesman, and as a professional man, who 
devoted so much of his time to the other sex as was devoted 
by Colonel Burr. For more than half a century of his life they 
seemed to absorb his whole thoughts. His intrigues were 
without number. His conduct most licentious. Tiie sacred 
bonds of friendship were unhesitatingh- violated when they 
operated as barriers to the indulgence of his passions." " In 
this particular. Burr appears to have been unfeeling and 
heartless. And yet, by a fascinating power, almost peculiai* 
to hims(?lf, he so managed as to retain the aftection, in some 
instances, the devotion, of his deluded victims. In every 
other respect, ho was kind and charitable. No man would go 
further to alleviate the sufl:erings of another. No man was 
more benevolent. No man would make greater sacrifices to 
promote the interest or the happiness of a friend." 

One needs to be very slightly acquainted with the habits of 
Aaron Burr to know that the above nnist be, at least, a pro- 
digious exaggeration. Not a Hue of this volume would ever 
have been written if I had not been perfectly cotivhiced that 
it is much more than an exaggeration. Aaron Burr was the 
busiest man, perhaps, that ever lived. No lawyer ever pre- 
pared his cases with more untiring assiduity, and few lawyers 
have had n\ore cases to prepare, lie was a man \\ho, no mat- 
ter what assistance lie had, saw to every thing himself. His 
aflivirs were always large and complicated ; and his devotion 
to them was the wonder of his friends. That such a man, so 
occupied, should have even seemed to devote his whole mind, 
for fifty years, to the pursuit of the fair sex, is incredible ; and 
the more so as the scene of his exploits was here in the United 
States, where women, as well from principle as from possessing 
the intelligence to calcul.ate the consequences of violating it, 
are the most virtuous in the world. It is atrreed amono- Burr's 
surviving friends and relatives, most of whom knew him bet- 
ter than Mr. Davis, that the passages quoted above convey 



IMS RKLAT10N8 "WITH WOMEN. 649 

ideas ludicrously at variance with the truth. That he was, at 
all periods of his life, what we now call a moral man, no one 
asserts. But that he was any thing like the all-consuming, 
the continuous, the insatiable destroyer, which he has been 
represented, all unite in declaring, is manifestly and certainly 
untrue. Not less exaggerated were John Adams's statements 
respecting Alexander Hamilton, when he s[)eaks of his " j)ros- 
titutions of j)Ower for the purposes of sensual gratification ;" of 
his " debaucheries in New York and Philadelphia ;" of " his 
audacious and unblushing attempts uj)on ladies of the highest 
rank and purest virtue;" of "the indignation with which he 
has Ijcen spurned ;" and of " the inquietude he has given to 
the first families." John Adams, an honest man, lived in in- 
timacy with Hamilton for several years ; yet few find it diffi- 
cult to believe the above assertions to be monstrous exagger- 
ations. 

In those days, we should remember, gallantry was a prac- 
tice expected of a Man of the World. There was going on 
everywhere in Christendom a breaking away from the severe 
creeds and strict morality of the ancient church ; one of the 
surest, and one of the first results of which was, and is, li- 
cense with regard to women. The young man delivered from 
the restraints of his youth, and from the latent, always oper- 
ating terrors of religion, eagerly hastened to gratify a long ac- 
cumulated curiosity, and to give proof of his emancipation. 
With the zeal of a new convert, and the keen appetite of 
young desire, he pursued foi'bidden pleasure, and boasted of 
more triumphs than he won. Mr. Lewes, in his Life of 
Goethe, writing of this period, says : 

" Those were the days of gallantry ; the days of 

" ' Puffs, paints, and patches, powders, billet-doux. ' 

The laxity of the German morals differed only from the 
more audacious licentiousness of France in having sentiment- 
alism in lieu of gayety and luxuriousness for its basis. The 
heart of a French marquise was lost over a supper table 
sparkling with champaigne and bo7i mots / the heart of a 

28 



C60 LIFE OF AAKON BUEK. 

German Grafin yielded more readily to moonlight melancholy 
and a copy of verses. AVit and andacity were the batteries 
for a French woman ; the German was stormed with sonnets 
and a threat of suicide. For the one, Lothario needed 
sprightliness and bon ton; for the other, turbulent disgust 
at all soeiid arrangements, expressed in interjectional rhet- 
oric, and a deportment outrageous to all conventions. It is 
needless to add that marriage was, to a great extent, what 
Sophie Arnauld, with terrible wit, called ' the sacrament of 
adultery;' and that on the subject of the sexes, tlu' whole 
lone of feeling was low. Poor, simple, earnest Schiller, wliom 
no one will accuse of laxity, admired the Liasons Divi(jereust's^ 
and saw no reason why women should not read it ; althougli, 
to our age, the infamy ot' that book is so great as to stamp a 
brand upon the society which produced and applauded it. 
Yet even Schiller, who admired this book, was astounded at 
the condition of women at Weimar. ' There is hardly one of 
them,' he writes to Korner, ' who has not had a liason. They 
are all coquettes. One may very easily fall into an " alfair of 
the heart," though it will not last any time.' It was thought, 
appai-eutly, that since Eros had wings, he must use them and 

fly." 

A state of things like this, it need not be said, has had no 
parallel in the United States. The brilliant skepticism of that 
age not only made no great progress among the people, but 
never pervaded the society of the country so far as to give 
the ruling tone to it. The society of America has been moral 
from the beginning. It is nevertheless true that among the 
wits, the more spirited young men of the colleges, the line 
gentlemen who had traveled in Europe, the men of books and 
experiments, the more decided revolutionists and republicans, 
it was the fashion to admire Voltaire, and to avoAV the narrow 
skepticism of Paine. The young scholar-soldiers of the Ivevo- 
lution generally imbibed it ; and, denioralized by a camp life, 
as camp-life then was, many of them became licentious in 
conduct. But even in this extreme liberal party, there was 
never more than an approach, half affected^ half real, to the 
immorality of continental Europe. Gallantry was, indeed, 



HIS KELATI0N8 WITH WOMEN. 051 

much in voguft with all parties. But morality was, also, tho 
ruM in all. 

Aaron l^urr, thon, was a man of gallantry. lie was not a 
debauchee ; not a corrupter of virgin innocence ; not a de- 
spoiler of honest liouseholds ; not ii Vjetrayer of tender confi- 
dences, lie was a man of gallantry. It is beyond question 
that, in the course of his long life, ho had many intrigues with 
women, sorne of wliicli (not many, there is good reason to 
believe) were carried to the point of criminality. The grosser 
forms of licentiousness he utterly abhorred ; sudi as the se- 
duction of innocence, the keeping of mistresses, the wallowing 
in the worse than beastliness of j^iostitution. Not every wo- 
man could attract him. lie was the most delicate and fastid- 
ious of men. A woman of wit, vivacity, and grace, whether 
beautiful or not, whether an inhabitant of a mansion or a cot- 
tage, was the creature who alone, and who always, could cap- 
tivate him. lie was, as it were, a man of gallaritry by nature. 
Every thing ajtpertaining to the sex was peculiarly interesting 
to him. He doted on a neatly turned billet-doux. lie thought 
highly of the minds of women ; he prized their writings. The 
rational part of the opinions now advocated by the Woman's 
Rights Conventions, were his opinions fifty years before those 
Conventions began their useful and needed work. His beau- 
tiful picture of Mary Wolstoncroft* (by Opie) he preserved 
through all the vicissitudes of his life, and gave it away on his 
death-bed to his last and best friend, in whose possession it 
still remains. 

It was impossible that he should have been addicted to gross 
sensual indulgencies. A man who is gross in one appetite, is 
generally gross in all. A man who, like Burr, is temperate in 
eating and drinking to the degree of abstemiousness, may not 
be strictly chaste, but he can not be a debauchee. A man who 
retains to the age of seventy-nine the vigor of manhood and 
the liveliness of a boy, can not, at any period of his life, have 
egregiously violated the laws of his being. 

All accounts, written and verbal, agree in tliis, that he pos- 
sessed an unequaled power of charming the ladies of his day. 
* Author of a Vindication of the Rights of Woman. 



652 LIFE OF AARON BURR. 

His manner toward them soft, courteous, and winning, had 
also the pecuharity of stimulating them to display theii- pow- 
ers and their charms to the best advantage. Witty women 
were wittiest when talking to him, and they had a flattering 
consciousness of the fact. He had the art of approaching a lady 
so, that, whatever gift or grace she most valued herself upon 
possessing, was called into agreeable exercise ; and she felt 
that she was shining. His handsome foce, too, his wonderfully 
brilliant black eyes, his extremely elegant figure, the careful 
correctness of his costume, the graceful loftiness of his de- 
meanor, his absolute self-possession, his reputation for bravery 
and address, his unequaled readiness in complimentary repar- 
tee — all, of coui'se, contributed to render him irresistible in 
the drawing-room — as the drawing-room then was. 

And not in the drawing-room only. A foreign lady of dis- 
tinction, with whom he was very intimate, told me that she 
never saw such an exhibition of graceful motion and delicate 
politeness in a man, as when, one evening in liis office, he roast- 
ed some clams by bis ofiice fire, and presented them to her, one 
by one, on the shell. There was a cry of clams in the sti-eet, 
and the lady having remarked that, as long as she had been in 
America, she had never tasted those national shell-fish, Burr 
sent out for some, and, with the assistance of his office boy, 
roasted and served them with enchanting grace. The same 
lady informs me there Avere two things Colonel Burr could do 
better than any man in the world — how out an obnoxious 
visitor, and hand a lady to her carriage. "I feel still," said 
she, "the soft touch of his little hand in mine, as he glided 
across the pavement." 

To his own vanity Burr owed much of his reputation for 
enormous licentiousness. Men who have unusual power to 
please ladies, have usually the foible to be extremely proud of 
it. Byron was always boasting of his easy triumphs. Pierre- 
pont Edwards, it is said, was so vain upon this point, that 
when unjustly charged with the parentage of a child, he could 
not find it in his heart to deny the soft impeachment, and 
would pay the sum demanded rather than lose the compliment. 
And Burr, who was prone to invest his innocent actions with 



HIS RELATIONS "WITH WOMEN. 653 

mystery, often, I am. sure, assumed the air of a man who has 
a " little French girl" behind a book-case, when there was 
nothing but cobwebs there. He never would refuse to accept 
the parentage of a child. 

" Why dc you allow this woman to saddle you with her 
child, when you know you are not the father of it ?" said a 
a friend to him, a few months before his death. 

" Sir," he replied, " when a lady does me the honor to name 
me the father of her child, I trust I shall always be too gallant 
to show myself ungrateful for the favor !" 

That very child, of which it was physically impossible he 
should have been the father, he claims in his will as his own 
and leaves it a legacy. At this day we can not understand, 
nor allow for, such a foible as this. But observe — neither 
Edwards nor Burr was ever known, in a single instance, so to 
vaunt their prowess as to compromise, in the slightest degree, 
the character of any woman. On that point my informants 
are explicit and unanimous. 

His life-long habit of adopting and educating children, 
also, tended to increase his reputation for criminal gallantry. 
Seven persons in ten have no notion of the educational instinct 
which yearns to develop a natural gift or a noble character. 
"Why," asked the world, " does he keep that girl at school, 
or send that boy to college?" "They are his own children, 
of course," answers Scandal with smiling selfrighteousness, 
nothing doubting. There was a period in the latter jDart of 
his life when he contributed to the support often women. In 
the most positive manner, by four individuals, each of whom 
stood nearer to Bui'r than Mr. Davis ever did, and one of 
whom had peculiar means of knowing, I am assured, that 
not one of these women had ever borne to him the relation 
which the chaiitable world would infer from the fact of his 
giving them money. "If," said one of these gentlemen to me, 
"Burr Aac? been a man of gross appetite, he might easily have 
been the greatest debauchee that ever existed." 

Nevertheless, in the mind of the moralist, Burr must stand 
condemned. Because his errors have been more overstated 
than those of any other man, he must not be exonerated from 



654 r, I F K O 1^ A A K O N R U R K . 

tho guilt of (lioso wluoh lio did ooimnit. He was jxnilty to- 
ward women — /i(\ who should Imvo inaugurated tho now 
morality, tho n\oralily which is to oonvinoo mankind that 
liberality ot" opinion is )io( incompatible with rigorous, with 
ideal virtue ! 

llow can we deplore enough the licentiousness of that age ! 
It ]>ut back the emancipation of the human intellect tor a 
bundled years! Superstition, this day, is living upon the vices 
of that brilliant, wicked period. How puzzled the wits and 
philosophers of the last century used to be, that their opinions 
made so little way with the average intellect of the people. 
As clear as the sun in the heavens seemed to them the truth 
of their system. They had on their side a majority of tho 
briglitest si^irits of tbe time. Hume, Gibbon, Fox, Franklin, 
Jefterson, were great men in their day; and though dead they 
yet speak with a voice potential. Yet the ideas of which 
these men were the antagonists still rule the world. Doubt- 
less, it is because license in conduct has so often acctnnpanied 
liberality of thought; because the steady virtue which pro- 
cures trancpnllity of life an»i safe prosperity was chictly to bo 
found among those whom philosophers pitied as the " victims 
of superstition."' Virtue is the ptnver of this world. As long 
as the servant-girl strict at mass and contession is, as a general 
I'ule, a better servant and woman than one who is not, the 
Pope is safe on his throne. The opinions that triumph at last 
are those which produce noble characters, high morality, well- 
ordered lives. 

A few anec<lotes illustrative of Bin-r"s relations with women 
may lind place here, and close the chapter. 

As an instance of his readiness, the following has been re- 
lated. Soon at\cr his return from Europe, he n\o[ in Broad- 
way a maiden lady somewhat advanccil in life, whom he had 
not seen for many years. He was passing hor without recog 
uition, when she said, 

" Colonel, do you not recollect me ?" 

*' I do not, madame," was his reply. 

*'I am !Miss K., sir," said she. 

"What !'' he exclaimed, " Miss K. yet f"' 



ni8 EELATI0N8 WITH WOMEN. 055 

" Yes, sir," replied the lady, a little offended, " Miss K. 
ijfit?' 

I*erceiving the eiror he had cornrnitted, he gently took her 
hand and, said, in his bland, emphatic nnanner, " Well, mad- 
arne, then I venture to assert that it is not tlie fault of ro.y 
sex !" 

Returning one day, in about the seventieth year of his age, 
from a pf-ofessional visit to Orange county. New York, he re- 
lated, with evident delight, an adventure which he had had 
during his absence. I have the story from the lady to whom 
he toW it first. 

It was one of the " cold Fridays" of tradition, when the in- 
cident occurred. So cold was it that few living creatures 
could long support life exposed to the blast. The snow lay 
deep on the ground ; the roads were imperfectly broken ; the 
air was fillt^d with particles of snow blown about by the wind. 
Colonel Burr had a ride of twenty miles before him that day, 
to attend a court which met on the day following. He had a 
companion with him, his partner in the law, a gentleman forty 
years his junior, who, after trying in vain to persuade him not 
to attempt the journey, refused, point blank, to accompany 
him. Burr consulted his man, and finding liim willing to go, 
ordered round his sleigh, they set off about the middle of 
the day. As night drew on the roads became worse, and the 
cold increased to such a degree that to keep the blood in mo- 
tion required laborious exertion. As the wind swept down 
from the mountains, even the horse shrunk from facing it, and 
gave signs of yielding to the cold. For himself Burr had no 
fears ; no weather could subdue him ; but his driver began 
to occasion him constant anxiety, as the drowsiness premoni- 
tory of the torpor that precedes freezing was coming over 
him. Finding that the drowsiness increased, he resolved at 
last to stop at the next house they came to. They were now 
in a thinly-settled country, which Burr had not seen since rev- 
olutionary times, when he had been much in the neighborhood 
with his regiment. About nine o'clock the light of a little 
cottage came in siglit ; to the door of which Burr's summonH 
brought an old lady, who proved to be its only inhabitant. 



656 1. 1 F K or A A K O N BUR R. 

"Is there hospitality here ?" asked Burr ; "we are nearly 
dead with eold." 

" Come in," was the old lady's prompt reply, '' you are wel- 
come to the best I have." 

In a tew minutes he had his halt-tVozeu servant by the side 
of a blazing- tire, and his horse in the stable. While they wero 
getting warm, the hostess prepared supper, to whieh, ii\ due 
time, they were invitoil. Uestored then to the use ot' his t'ae- 
iilties, Burr looked about him :\ud observed that, though 
every thiiig in the room was ot' an unj>retending and inex- 
pensive eharaeter, yet all was elean and nicely arranged." Tho 
only ornamental object was a plaster bust standing upon a lit- 
tle shelt". lie had casually noticed this on laUering the room, 
and looking now to ascertain which ot"thc national lavorites it 
was whom the old lady had selected to adorn hi>r abode, he 
was astonisheii to discover that it was a bust of himself! 
Twenty years before, this would ha\ e been no unusual circum- 
stance; but rare indeed was it then for him to bo thus re- 
minded of his t'ormer condition. More to anuise his servai\t 
than for any other reason, he said, as the old lady was putting 
away her dishes : 

"" What ! have you got that vile traitor here?" 

The woman paused in her work as he uttered these words. 
Her manner changed in a moment. Putting down some 
plates which she had in her hand, she walked slowly up to the 
fire where he was sitting, and standing before him, said with 
intense emphasis : 

" Sir, I have taken vou in, to-night, and have done the best 
I could for you : but if you say another word against Aaron 
Burr, rU put you and your man out w here you came liom 
quicker than you came in."' 

Ho apologized, aiul, al\er a tinie, sncceeded in regaining 
ber good will, lie did not tell her who he was, nor could ho 
recollect her. lie supposed that he must have known her in 
early life, when, as the youngest colonel in the army, and tlie 
protector of that county, he must have been a brilliant tiguro 
in the imagination of a country girl. 

Ten years later, on one of the last journeys he over made, 



n r H II K r, a r i o n h with women. 057 

}io foiind fiirriHolf in llif; M(;i;.^liliorhoo'l of T'ort Loo, on the 
JIij'Ihou, a few rrnloH ubovo Xovv York, Jiof'oro tin; door of a 
farm-houHO, he Haw a very old woman knittin*^, and Hmoking 
a pipo, wlifnri lie ifioiight he recoj:^nized as ono of h'm revolu- 
tionary acquaintances. Itecollectin^ the incident just related, 
he entered into conversation with hr;r. 

" l^id you know," said he, " one Major Jiurr, or Aaron iiurr, 
in the revolutionary war, hereahouts ?" 

" What I" said tin; old woman, "the Aaron Hurr that after- 
ward ho(!ame sucli a great man ? and a bad man, too, they 
say : tried to overturn the j^overnment, they tell me." 

" Yes," replied Burr, " that's the man I mean." 

" O, yes," said she, with a brightening face, " I remember 
him well /^^ 

"Do you think you should know him again ?" IJurr asked. 

" It's a long time ago," she replied, musing ; and then, as a 
smile broke over her face, she added, " but I think I should 
know his black eyes." 

" Well," said he, " I am the very jjerson." 

She looked at him intently. " you are Major Burr ?" ehe 
exclaimed. 

" f am, indeed," he said. 

She saw that it was indeed the Major iJun- of her youth 
who stood befbi'C her ; changed as he was, his black eyes were 
as bright as they were then. She dropped her knitting and 
her pipe, rose to her feet, thiew her arms around his neck, 
and hugged him long and clo.s<;. Sh(i had not seen him for 
sixty years, buL through all that long period she had cherished 
the recollection of his valor, courtesy, and tenderness. They 
sat down, side by side, thes(i two relics of a former age, and 
talked of the ,olden time. She had much to tell him of the 
history ol' his former friends. She showed him some of the 
great grand-children of people he liad known in the bloom of 
their youth. 

The gentleman from whom I derived this anecdote, adds 
that, about the same time, he witnessed another remark- 
abl<! meeting between iiurr and ante-revolutionary friend.s. 
One of the first acts of hospitality Hurr ever performed waH 

2H* 



658 LIFE OF AARON BUPwR- 

the entertaining of the late Major and Mrs. Popham at his 
house in Albany. They Avere, indeed, married at his house, 
and received from him important services. They were among 
those who never turned their backs upon him in the day of 
his misfortunes, though some years had now elapsed since they 
had seen him. Returning to New York from White Plains, 
in one of the late years of his life, Colonel Burr visited his 
old friends at their country seat. "The meeting between 
Mrs. Popham and Burr," says my informant, " was refined and 
touching in the extreme, and their whole intercourse was 
marked by the high-bred courtesy of the revolutionary period. 
No had man could ever excite the feeling he did in the minds 
of such women, much less retain their friendship for half a 
century." 

A lady said to Burr one day in his office, 

" Come, colonel, no more mystery ; tell me now what you 
really meant to do in Mexico." 

He was not to be caught. " Oh," said he, in his light, 
pleasant manner, " I'd have made it a heaven for w^omen ; and 
if you had then been alone, you should have been there to 
enjoy it." 

He had a great abhorrence of criminal intimacies with hon- 
est poor girls. A member cf his own household was once 
seen to take a liberty with the person of a servant girl in his 
own house. It came to his ears. He expressed the strongest 
possible disgust. " A man," said he, " who will so much as 
look with lustful eyes upon a servant is no gentleman ; and if 
he does it in the house of a friend, he dishonors that house 
and insults that friend." 

Talking one day with a very intimate friend, respecting his 
own affairs of gallantry, he uttered these words : " I never 
had an amour in my life in which I w^as not met half way. 
I would be the last man on earth to make such advances where 
they were not welcome. Nor did I ever do, or say, or write 
any thing which threw a cloud over a woman's name." This 
was not said in the way of exculpation, for he never uttered a 
syllable of that nature. It was a casual remark, arising nat- 
urally from the conversation. 



HIS BELATIONS WITH WOMEN. 659 

On another occasion, a few weeks before his death, in the 
course of a similar conversation, he said, " Seduction is a crime 
like no other. No woman can lay her ruin at my door. If I 
had a son, and he were to bring dishonor upon a family by 
ruining a daughter, I would shoot him as I would a dog !" 



CHAPTER XXXY. 

HIS SECOND M A R R I A a E . 
Omgin and HisTOKV OF Stkphkn JrMrx — Mapamk Jitmkl's Visit to Burr — Court- 

SHU" AND MaKRIAOE — BUKK MlSUSKS UKK MoSEY — TllKIK SEPARATION. 

Bkikfly must tliis singular tale be told. Singular it is in 
the literal sense of the word ; neither in history or in tietion 
can its parallel be found, 

Stephen Jumel, one of those efHeient, invincible Frenchmen, 
who redeem the character of their nation, eniigrated at an 
early age to St. Domingo, where he worked his way to the 
ownership of a share hi a coitee plantation. Warned by a 
faithful slave, he escaped from his house on the eve of the 
great massacre, and saw, from a wooil to which he had Hed, 
his buildings burned and his plantation laid waste. For many 
days, fed by liis negro friend, he wandered \\\) and ilown the 
lonely sea-shore, signaling every ship that passed the island. 
At length, a boat put oti' from a vessel and took him on board. 
At St. Helena, the tirstport nvade by the ship, he stopped, and 
engaging at once in some little speculations, gained some money 
which he spent in procuring a passage to New York. To that 
city he had sent from St. Domingo, a quantity of coli'ee, the 
proceeds of which he found awaiting his orders on arriving. 
l*rovided thus with a small ca{)ital, he embarked in trade, pros- 
pered, became the owner of a dozen ships, controlled the mar- 
ket for some descriptions of goods,* and retired about the year 

* G raut Thorbum says: — "Stephen Juinel, a Frenchman, was among our 
early 'merchant princes.' One morning, about 10 o'clock, in the year ISOG, 
this gentleman, in company with "William Bayard, Harmon Leroy, Archibald 
Gracio, General Clarkson, and somo dozen others, ^Yas reading and discussing 
the news just arrived from Liverpool, in the extraordinary short passage of 
neutn wwhs! 'I'lie matter mostJv concerned N a polk OS THE FuiST and the bat- 



11 I S S K C O N I) M A It It I A O K . 601 

1812 witli wliat vv^as tlicii oonsidorcd a groat fbrtuno. A man 
of" HC'iise, lie liad inanied a (laughter of New England, a wo- 
man as remarkable for energy and talent as himself. 

After Napoleon's downfall and the pacification of Europe, 
the family went to Paris, where they resided in splendor for 
many years, and where Madame Jumel, by her wit and tact, 
achieved a distinguished position in the court society of the 
place. Of the court itself she was a favored frequenter. 

In the year 1822, M. Jumel lost a considerable part of his 
fortune, and madame returned alone to New York, bringing 
with her a prodigious quantity of grand furniture and paint- 
ings. ]i(!ti)ing to a seat in the upper part of Manhattan 
Island, which she possessed in her own right, she began with 
native eneigy the task of restoring her husband's broken for- 
tunes. 8he cultivated her farm ; she looked vigilantly to the 
r<-mfiiiis of the estate; she economized. In 1828, when M. 
Jumel returned to the United States, they were not as rich 
as in former days, but their estate was ample for all rational 
purposes and enjoyments. In 1832, M. Jumel, a man of mag- 
nificent proportions, very handsome, and perfectly preserved 
(a great waltzer at seventy), was thrown from a wagon and 
fatally injured. He died in a i'aw days. Madame was then 
little jtast her prime. 

There was talk of cholera in the city. Madame Jumel re- 
solved upon taking a carriage tour in the country. Before 
setting out, she wished to take legal advice respecting some 

tie of Wagram. While thus engaged, a carman's horse backed his cart into 
the Whitohall slip, at the head of wliich tliey were grouped together. The 
cart was got out, but the hor.-jo was drowned, and every one began pitying the 
poor carman's ill luck. Jumel iastantly arose, and placing a ten dollar bill 
between his thumb and lingers, and holding it aloft, while it fluttered in the 
breeze, and with his hat in the other hand he walked through the length and 
Vjreadth of the crowd exclaiming, 'How much you pity the poor man? 1 
pity him ten dollars. How much you pity him ?' By this ingenious and no- 
ble coup-d'dat, he coUoolod, in a lev/ moments, above seventy dollars, which 
he gave over at once to the unfortunate and Ibrtunato carman. (Tliis is the 
original story — there have been many imilations of it since ; but the idea of 
'pit3'iug a man' so much money, originated with my old acquaintance Ju- 
mel.)' 



j 



662 LIFE OF AAEON BTJRE. 

real estate, and as Colonel Burr's reputation in that depart- 
ment was preeminent, to his office in Reade-street she drove. 
In other days he had known her well, and though many an 
eventful year had passed since he had seen her, he recognized 
her at once. Pie received her in his courtliest manner, com- 
plimented her with admirable tact, listened with soft deference 
to her statement. He was the ideal man of business — confi- 
dential, self-possessed, polite — giving his client the flattering 
impression that the faculties of liis whole soul were concen- 
trated upon the affair in hand. She Avas charmed, yet feared 
him. He took the papers, named the day when his opinion 
would be ready, and handed her to her carriage with winning 
grace. At seventy-eight years of age, he was still straight, 
active, agile, fascinating. 

On the appointed day she sent to his office a relative, a stu- 
dent of law, to receive his opinion. This young gentleman, 
timid and inexperienced, had an immense opinion of Burr's 
talents ; had heard all good and all evil of him ; supposed him 
to be, at least, the acutest of possible men. He went. Burr 
behaved to him in a manner so exquisitely pleasing, that, to 
this hour, he has the liveliest recollection of the scene. N"o 
topic was introduced but such as were familiar and interesting 
to young men. His manners were such as this age of slangy 
familiarity can not so much as imagine. The young gentle- 
man went home to Madame Jumel only to extol and glorify 
him. 

Madame and her party began their journey, revisiting 
Ballston, whither, in former times, she had been wont to go 
in a chariot drawn by eight horses ; visiting Saratoga, then 
in the beginning of its celebrity, where, in exactly ten minutes 
after her arrival, the decisive lady bought a house and all it 
contained. Returning to New York to find that her mansion 
had been despoiled by robbers in her absence, she lived for a 
while in the city. Colonel Burr called upon the young gen- 
tleman who had been madame's messenger, and, after their 
acquaintance had ripened, said to him, " Come into my office ; 
I can teach you more in a year than you can learn in ten, in an 
ordinary way." The proposition being submitted to Madame 



HIS SECOND MARRIAGE. 663 

Jurae], she, anxious for the young man's advancement, gladly 
and gratefully consented. He entered the office. Burr kept 
him close at his books. He did teach him more in a year than 
he could have learned in ten in an ordinary way. Burr lived 
then in Jersey City. His office (23 Nassau-street) swarmed 
with applicants for aid, and he seemed now to have quite lost 
the power of refusing. In no other respects, bodily or men- 
tal, did he exhibit signs of decrepitude. 

Some months passed on without his again meeting Madame 
Jurael. At the suggestion of the student, who felt exceed- 
ingly gi-ateful to Burr for the solicitude with which he assisted 
his studies, Madame Jumel invited Colonel Burr to dinner. 
It was a grand banquet, at which he displayed all the charms 
of his manner, and shone to conspicuous advantage. On 
handing to dinner the giver of the feast, he said : " I give 
you my hand, madame ; my heart has long been yours." 
This was supposed to be merely a compliment, and was little 
remarked at the time. Colonel Burr called upon the lady ; 
called frequently ; became ever warmer in his attentions ; pro- 
posed, at length, and was refused. He still plied his suit, how- 
ever, and obtained at last, not the lady's consent, but an 
undecided No. Improving his advantage on the instant, ho 
said, in a jocular manner, that he should bring out a clergy- 
man to Fort Washington on a certain day, and there he 
would once more solicit her hand. 

He was as good as his word. At the time appointed, he 
drove out in his gig to the lady's country residence, accom- 
panied by Dr. Bogart, the very clergyman who, just fifty 
years before, had married him to the mother of his Tlieodo- 
sia. The lady was embarrassed, and still refused. But then 
the scandal ! And, after all, why not ? Her estate needed a 
vigilant guardian, and the old house was lonely. After much 
hesitation, she at length consented to be dressed, and to re- 
ceive her visitors. And she was married. The ceremony was 
witnessed only by the members of Madame Jumel's family, 
and by the eight servants of the household, who peered 
eagerly in at the doors and windows. The ceremony over, 
Mrs. Burr ordered supper. Some bins of M. Jumel's wine 



664 LIFE OF AARON BURR. 

cellar, tliat had not been opened for half a century, were laid 
nnder contribution. The little party was a very merry one. 
The parson, in particular, it is remembered, was in the highest 
spirits, overflowing with humor and anecdote. Except for 
Colonel Burr's great age (which was not apparent), the match 
seemed not an unwise one. The lurking fear he had had of 
being a poor and homeless old man was put to rest. She had 
a companion who had been ever agreeable, and her estate a 
steward than whom no one living was supposed to be more 
competent. 

As a I'emarkable circumstance connected with this marriage, 
it may be just mentioned that there was a woman in New 
York who had aspired to the hand of Colonel Burr, and who, 
when she heard of his union with another, wrung her hands 
and shed tears ! A feeling of that nature can seldom, since 
the creation of man, have been excited by the marriage of a 
man on the verge of fourscore. 

A few days after tlie wedding, the " happy pair" paid a visit 
to Connecticut, of which State a nephew of Colonel Burr's 
Avas then governor. They were received with attention. At 
Hartford, Burr advised his wife to sell out her shares in the 
bridge over the Connecticut at that place, and invest the 
proceeds in real estate. She ordered them sold. The stock 
was in demand, and the shares brought several thousand dol- 
lars. The purchasers offered to pay her the money, but she 
said, "No; pay it to my husband." To him, accordingly, it 
was paid, and he had it sewed up in his pocket, a prodigious 
bulk, and brought it to New York, and deposited it in his 
own bank, to his own credit. 

Texas was then beginning to attract the tide of emigration 
which, a few years later, set so strongly thither. Burr had 
always taken a great interest in that country. Persons with 
whom he had been variously connected in life had a scheme 
on foot for settling a large colony of Germans on a tract of 
land in Texas. A brig had been chartered, and the project 
was in a state of forwardness, when the possession of a sum 
of money enabled Burr to buy shares in the enterprise. The 
greater part of the money which he had brought from Hart- 



HIS SECOND MARRIAGE. 665 

ford was invested -in this way. It proved a total loss. The 
time had not yet come for emigration to Texas. The Ger- 
mans became discouraged and separated, and, to complete the 
failure of the scheme, the title of the lands in the confusion 
of the times, proved defective. Meanwhile madanie, who vvas 
a remarkably thrifty woman, with a talent for the management 
of property, wondered that her husband made no allusion to 
the subject of the investment ; for the Texas speculation had 
not been mentioned to her. She caused him to be questioned 
on the subject. He begged to intimate to the lady's messen- 
ger that it was no affair of her's, and requested him to remind 
the lady that she now had a husband to manage her affairs, 
and one who would manage them. 

Coolness between the husband and wife was the result of 
this colloquy. Then came remonstrances. Then estrange- 
ment. Burr got into the habit of remaining at his office in 
the city. Then, paitial reconciliation. Full of schemes and 
speculations to the last, without retaining any of his former 
ability to operate successfully, he lost more money, and more, 
and more. The patience of the lady was exhausted. She 
filed a complaint accusing him of infidelity^ and praying that 
he might have no more control or authority over her affairs. 
The accusation is now known to have been groundless ; nor, 
indeed, at the time Avas it seriously believed. It was used 
merely as the most convenient legal mode of depriving him 
of control over her property. At first, he answered the com- 
plaint vigorously, but afterward, he allowed it to go by default 
and proceedings were carried no further. A few short weeks 
of happiness, followed by a few months of alternate estrange- 
ment and reconciliation, and this union, that begun not inaus- 
jjiciously, was, in effect, though never in law, dissolved. What 
is strangest of all is, that the lady, though she never saw her 
husband during the last two years of his life, cherished no ill- 
will toward him, and shed tears at his death. To this hour, 
Madanie Jumel thinks and speaks of him Avith kindness, at- 
tributing what was wrong or unwise in his conduct to the 
infirmities of age. 



(JC6 V, IFK OF AAKON K U It U. 

]\[on of sovoiily-oiglit Ikvvo boon m:\rr'uHl Ix^loro and since. 
But, }»rol):ibIy, novor lias thoro boon anolhor inslaiUH' of a 
mati of that aoo, \vinnin>>' a huly of fortuno and tlistinotion, 
grieving another by his nianiaj>e, and exeitint; suspicions of 
incontinence against himself by his attentions to u third 1 



CHAPTER KXXVI. 

HTB LAHT YEARS AND HOURS. 

Btkkjkbn wiTir rAUAi.vHm - • dm Laht and Hmr Fuirswn — Ankodotb« oy Um 
8i()KNK«« — Dyino Dkoi.auatiov Kkmj'kotino ]Ii» ExI'BDITION — Intkrvikwb 

WITH A Ol,KllOyMAN — lIlH LA8T M0MBMT8 — FoHBKAT, — MOMIJMKST. 

Onk rnoniinf:f, about tho close of tlic yoar 1833, while Col- 
nel Burr, in company with a frienrl, was pasHing the old City 
Ifotd, in the lower part of Hroafhvay, liis step HUfldfinly fal- 
t(!r(!(I, lie loaned heavily u|)on his friend's arm, and was soon 
comjtolled to come to a halt. 

" What is the matter, erjjoru;! ?" asked his friend. 

"I don't know," was his reply; " something seems to bo 
the matter with my wnlking; T can't step ; there's no feeling 
nor strength in this hig." 

If(! was assisted to the wall of the hotel, where ho leaned 
for a f'i'w rrKjments, hoping the strange affection would pass 
oir. As il, grew no bottei', a carriage was called ; he was 
driven to his pfTice in Nassau-street, and a doctor was sum- 
n)on(;d, who pronounced the disease paralysis. I'rostratc; and 
helpless was the active man at last, I lis wife, with whom ho 
had not lived for some time, forgot the losses she had suffered 
through his indiscretion, when she heard that he was sick, and 
went to se(! him. *' Come Aom^," said she; "here you can 
havo no proper att(!ndance." Her carriage was at the door, 
and he went homo with her to Fort Wiishington, where a 
month's assiduous and tender nursing, to the surprise of every 
one, restored him. But just as soon as he was upon his feet 
again, he was eager to be in town, at his suits, at his specula- 
tions ; and it was after this " first warning," that the legal 
proceofiings were institiited wliich led to tho final estrange- 
ment between the ill-mated pair. 



668 LIFE OF AARON BURR. 

He would never own that he had had a paralytic stroke. He 
insisted that he was perfectly well, and was offended if any 
one asked a question which implied the contrary. Tenaciously 
he clung to life. He would be the beau, the man of business, 
the great lawyer, to the last. 

But a second stroke followed, a few months later, depriving 
forever of life and motion both his lower limbs. There was 
no concealing this calamity. Yet, for a while, his mind was 
as active as ever, and his general health unimpaired. Reclin- 
ing upon a sofa in his office, he saw his friends and clients as 
usual, and wrote letters, billet-doux, notes, opinions, without 
number. His pen should walk for him, travel for him, plead 
for him ; he would be thought, as he thought himself, as effi- 
cient a man as ever he was. This could not last. It was ap- 
parent to every one but himself that his mental powers were 
no longer adequate to the discharge of business, and partly 
by a sense of decreasing strength, partly by the persuasions 
of friends, he was induced gradually to i-elax his hold upon 
mundane things, and subside into the tranquilhty that befitted 
liis age and condition. 

The close of his life was solaced and cheered by a friend, 
who proved herself a friend indeed. Far back to the earliest 
days of the Revolution we must look for the first of the series 
of events which secured to the helpless old man those tender 
attentions from the hand and heart of a woman which age and 
sickness need. 

During the expedition to Canada, while the American forces 
lay near the heights of Quebec, Burr, whose stock of provi- 
sions was reduced to a biscuit and an onion, went down to a 
small brook to drink. Having no cup, he was proceeding to 
use the top of his cajD as a drinking vessel, when a British 
officer who had come to the other side of the brook for the 
same purpose saluted him politely, and offered him the use of 
his hunting cup. Burr accepted the offer, and the two ene- 
mies entered into conversation. The officer, pleased with 
the frank and gallant bearing of the youth — for a youth he 
seemed — concluded the interview by bestowing upon him the 
truly munificent gift of part of a horse's tongue. They in- 



HIS LAST YEARS AND HOURS. 669 

quired each other's name. " When next we meet," said the 
Briton, " it will be as-enemies, but if we should ever come to- 
gether after the Avur is over, let us know each other better." 
Stepping upon some stones in the middle of the brook, they 
sliook hands, and parted. In the subsequent operations of the 
war, each saw the other occasionally, but before the peace the 
British officer went home badly wounded. 

Thirty-six years after, when Colonel Burr was an exile in 
Scotland, he met that officer again ; an old man then, residing 
upon his estate. Each had a vivid recollection of the scene at 
the brook in the old wars, and a warm friendship sprang up 
between them. Colonel Burr visited the house of the aged 
officer, and received from him assistance of the most essential 
kind, namely, a loan of three hundred pounds, besides valuable 
introductions. 

Twenty-four years later, the daughter of that Scottish offi- 
cer, ruined in fortune by a husband's extravagance, was at 
the head of a large boarding house in New York, near the 
Bowling Green.. Both herself and her husband had been 
friends of Colonel Burr ever since their arrival in New York, 
and, after her husband's death. Burr was her lawyer and man- 
of-business. This lady was, and is, one of the kindest and 
sprightliest of her sex ; a woman of high breeding, with too 
little of the provincial in her character to have more than a 
veiy slight respect for that teiTor of provincial souls, Mrs. 
Grundy. 

She heard that Colonel Burr was lying sick and helpless at 
his office, and she went to see him. She sent him delicacies 
from her table. She kept a general oversight of his domestic 
arrangements for some months, and then, with her husband's 
hearty concurrence (she had married again) invited and urged 
him to come and take up his abode in her house as long as he 
lived. He should pay the extra expenses which she might in 
cur, but he should be, in- effect as in name, her guest. Th 
summer of 1834 saw him established in the two basemen 
rooms of her house, with all his familiar relics, books, pictures, 
and furniture round him. It was the " old Jay house" — whei'e 
his former friend, Governor John Jay, had resided. Another 



670 LIFE OP AARON BURB. 

coincidence was, tliat the man-servant who chiefly waited 
upon him at this time, had been for many years butler to Do 
Witt Clinton. 

For two years he lay upon his bed, or reclined in an arm- 
chair, free fi-om pain, and growing' weaker only by insensible 
degrees. Ever cheerful, often merry, always kind, visited oc- 
casionally by his old friends, and visited continually by old 
and new pensioners ; every want anticipated and su])plied, his 
life glided on tranquilly toward its close. He caused the por- 
trait of Theodosia to be hung so that he could look upon it as 
he lay in bed, and tears have been observed to course slowly 
down his furrowed cheeks as he gazed upon it. For hours at a 
time he would lie silent with his eyes tixcd upon his daughter's 
face. Always incline'd to be taciturn, he was now more silent 
than ever. Never accustomed to sj^eak ill or harshly of others, 
he never, during these two years, alluded to any one but with 
charity. He gave very little trouble to his attendants, and 
addressed them always with marked courtesy. A sick girl 
was never more delicate than he. 

In the early months of his sickness he took the most intense 
interest in the ailairs of Texas, then in the midst of her 
struggle for independence, aided by thousands of American 
citizens. A gentleman who called upon him one morning, at 
this period, found him, newspaper in hand, all excitement, his 
eyes blazing. 

" There .^" exclaimed tlie old man, pointing to the news 
fi'om Texas, "you see? I was right ! I was only tiiirty years 
too soon ! What was treason in ine thirty years ago, is patriot- 
ism now ! !" 

He lived to see Texas an independent State — -made such 
chiefly by emigrants and adventurers from the United States. 

Phrenology became the town-talk in 1835. It was a new 
thing with us then, and had few adherents. The young poet 
Barlow, one of the Hrst practitioners in the science, dined one 
day at the house where Colonel Burr resided, when it oc- 
curred to the landlady to give him an oj)portunity to test his 
power of reading character. She said to him, " We have an 
old gentleman from the country upon a visit to us, whom I 



HIS LAST Y12ARS AND 110UK8. G71 

ehould like you to seo. He seems to me to have quite a re- 
iiKuk.'iblo head, thougli lie is not a highly educated man." 

TIk! phrenologist having intimated his willingness to exam- 
ine him, she went below to ])r('i)are (Jolonel liurr for the inter- 
view, cautioning him to say nothing, and, above all, to kee}) 
still, lest a bow or a gesture should betray liim. lie was reclin- 
ing in a chair, attired in a flannel dressing-gown, when Barlow 
was ushered into his apartment. ILis nurse, who was sitting 
at a table sewing, was to personate the daughter of the old 
gentleman. 

"This gentleman, sir," said the lady, "is a phrenologist, 
and I have brought him to examine your head." 

lie nodded, and the examination began. 

"What a head!" was the phrenologist's first whisper. 
" Who is he ? Where does he come from ?" 

" Oh," replied the lady, " he is an old friend of my father's. 
lie lives in Connecticut, and has come to the city for medical 
advice. But I won't tell you any thing more about him till 
you have given us his character. You wouldn't sui)[)ose hiui 
to be a clergyman, would you ?" 

"A clergyman !" exclaimed Barlow. " Great heavens. No ! 
I would sooner take him lor a man of war than a man of 
peace. If \i% had b(H'n an educated man, he could have set 
the world in arms ! This is a Van Buren head, only of higher 
ambition and greater powers." 

" lie would have made a good soldier, then, if he had been 
called upon to fight V" inquired the lady. 

" Such a head as ihat,^^ said tiie phrenologist, " might have 
led an army, and coiuiuered a world ! It is a great head ! a 
very great head ! What a pity he should have lived in ob- 
scurity ! With many noble traits of character, however, ho 
has some bad ones, lie is generous to a fault. He takes 
pleasure in giving, whether his own or other's property, lie 
is very secretive ; relies on his own judgment ; is seldom 
swerved by the advice of others, lie feels that he was born 
to command, and is as brave as a lion. He would have made 
a great scholar, a great statesman, a great oratoi", a great any 
thing, if he had but had the chance. Yet he can descend to 



612 LIFE OF AARON BURR. 

duplicity to gain his ends. He is not over-conscientious when 
his passions or his feelings are concerned. As a statesman, he 
would have been diplomatic, and firm as a rock, whether for 
evil or for good. A firm friend, without boasting or jiresum- 
ing. More generous than just. lie has little reverence, yet 
would scarcely be an unbeliever. His head is indeed a study 
— a strange, contradictory head. He is very irritable, and 
impatient of control. He could look into the souls of men. 
Gracious ! what a lawyer he would have made ! And that's 
his daughter, is it ? What a difference ! One would almost 
think it impossible. This head is one of those that think 
every thing possible, and will dare all to gain a point. He has 
been fond of the fiiir sex, too, in his day. But his bad qualities 
are overtopped by his good ones. And now, pray tell me 
who this gentleman is ?" 

" Colonel Aaron Burr, sir," replied the lady, in triumph. 

The phrenologist started back, with a curious blending of 
curiosity and shame expressed in his face and attitude, 

" Oh, sir, pardon me," he said ; " if I had known who it was 
that I was examining, I should not have presumed to say what 
I have said. But this is an honor I have long wished for, and 
nothing could have given me greater delight." 

" Sir," whispered Burr, in his blandest mannei', " you have 
given me no offense." 

This ended the interview. The next day, the lady said to 
him that she thought Mr. Barlow had hit his character very 
correctly. 

" No, madame," he replied, with unexpected gi-avity, " he 
made some great mistakes. He said I was irritable. I am 
not irritable." 

The phrenologist was right, however. He had been irrita 
ble in his w'ay. 

His chief amusement during these monotonous months was 
reading. He read much, but not many things. Chiefly he 
liked his good friend to read to him something of a tender or 
sentimental cast. Sterne was a great flivorite, particularly the 
story of Le Fevre in Tristram Shandy. Uncle Toby's treat- 
ment of the fly was quite to his taste. One day, after a long 



HIS LAST YEARS AND HOUKS. 673 

reading from Sterne, he said, "If I had read Sterne more, 
and Voltaire less, I should have known that the world was 
wide enough for Hamilton and mc." 

It was a custom of the busy lady of the house to visit him 
twice every day. The doctor ordered him champagne, Avhich 
she used to bring him with her own hands after dinner. Re- 
vived by the draught, he would then be eager to hear some- 
thing read. " Well, my child," he would say, " have you 
any thing to comfort me with to-day? Read something good, 
something classical, something sweet. Let us have a pleasant 
half hour." The lady, herself a poetess, liked nothing better 
than to repeat to him her favorites and his own. Some bits 
of Moore he was never tired of hearing ; above all, he liked 
the poem written by Moore upon hearing that the Prince Re- 
gent, with his usual meanness, had deserted a lovely girl whom 
he had ruined. Burr loathed conduct of that nature with a 
perfect loathing. 

" When first I met thee, warm and young, 
There shone such truth about thee. 
And on thy Up such promise hung, 

I did not dare to doubt thee. 
I saw thee change, yet still relied, 
Still clung with hope the fonder, 
And thought, though false to all beside, 
From me thou could'st not wander. 
But go, deceiver I go, 

The heart, whoso hopes could make it 
Trust one so false, so low. 

Deserves that thou shouldst break it. 

"When every tongue thy follies named, 
I fled the unwelcome story ; 
Or found, in even the faults they blamed. 

Some gleams of future glory. 
/ still was true, when nearer friends 
Conspired to wrong, to slight thee ; 
The heart that now thy falsehood renda 
Would then have bled to right thee. 
But go, deceiver I go — 

Some day, perhaps, thou'lt waken 
From pleasure's dream, to know 
The grief of hearts forsaken." 
29 



674 L I F K O F A A K t> X V. T K R . 

Alooro's '* Otl in tho stilly nicht," wrt:* :\notlun- of Ins favor 
itos. ^Vllou his motnorv was almost gono, ho would whispor 
the first lino, and ask, " Uow doos it go on, n\y dear? Say 
it." Sotno psalms and hvnms that ho had loarnoil in ohild- 
hood soomod to linger in his nvomorv. (.'►no psalm, in particu- 
lar, he ot\en vepoatod and praised : 

" It \\-;is not any 0{>on Rh> 
That talso ivtUvliona in;\do." 

Nothing pleased him bettor than a timely and apt quota- 
tion. Some gentlemen Avere in his room one evening, when 
the conversation took a severer tone than he liked. SUnv to 
speak ill of any one, he never relished demmciatory language. 
Aller one of his srnesls had tinishcl some severe remarks, tho 
lady of the liouse stepped forward, and in the quick, graceful 
lu.aimer peculiar to her, repeated these lines from Hurns'a 
Address to the l^nco Oude: 

* Then jn?ivtlr sonn your brother man, 

Still grontlor sistor woman; 
Thou^lh thoy may j;ani>; a kounin' wnvog, 

To stop asido is huiuan ; 
One point must still be givntly dark, 

Tho moving Wlnj thoy do it ; 
Ai\d just as lanioly can yo mark 

How far, porhaps, thoy rue it 

" Who mado tho hoart, 'tis Ho ;ilono 

Decidedly os\u try us ; 
Ho knowj? eaoh ehonl — its Atuious tone, 

Kaoh sprinjr — its various bisis ; 
Then nt the balaneo let 's be unite, 

^Ye never ean ai\)ust it; 
"VThats doTie wo partly may ivmputc?. 

But know uot what's rosistciL" 

Good humor was restored ; a better spirit prevailed in tho 
company. Hurr, who had lain silent up to this time, now 
expressed the keenest delight. '■' Jloir good!" he kept whis- 
pering. " How very good. So like you, my dear ; ^o like 



11 I H T, AHT VICAfiH A ,V f) riOURft. f'l^ 

you !" n<i was cxcacjVwffly plcaserl, and oftftn alluded to the 
«cono and tho linos afterward. 

Ih; was a foo to rnclandioly, to thf; IukI. His kind friend 
said to liitn om; (!vcnin<(, when lie seemed wenker than UHual : 
" Well, colonel, I'm afrairl wc shan't have yon here lonj^ ; but 
it's a safl world, after all, and I wish T was ^oing too." 

" hon't say so, child," said he; "I have lived my day; you 
are younj? ; your time is before you ; enjoy it." 

On anotli(;r occasion, when she had met with an affliction, 
Bhe saiil tr> him, " O, colonel, how ff/u/M I get throuf^h this?'* 

"LiVK throufrh it, my dear !" was his emfdiatic, reply. 

Still comf>laining, she said, "This will kill me, colonel, I 
know I can not sui-vive t/n»y 

" Well," said he, " die, tlien, madarne : we must all die ; hut 
bless me, die game !" 

One lovely aftei-noon, she said, as she arrange<l his pillows, 
*' O ! colonel, if you were only forty years younger, and we 
were walking by the side of some pleasant stream, with beau- 
tiful fhnvers all around us, how happy we could be this after- 
noon," 

" Well, rny child," said he, "and we f;hall walk by the side 
of pleasant streams, amid beautiful flowers, if we are to be- 
lieve the Book !" 

Bringing him the papers, as usual, one morning she called 
his attention to some false statements relating to his duel with 
Hamilton, and said to him, 

"How can you, colonel, let these people traduce you so, 
when you have the documents in your possession that would 
exonerate you ?" 

" I am already exonerated," was bis reply. 

" What do you mean V" she asked. 

" 77iere /" said he, pointing upward. 

A scene occurred in the dining-room of the house while 
he lay helpless, which may as well be related here. A gen- 
tleman called to engage board, found suitable rooms, and said 
lie would call in the afternoon to say wliether he would take 
thorn. He came to dinner. Addressing himself in an em- 
barrassed, hesitating manifer to the landlady, he said he had 



676 LIFK OF AAUON BURK. 

just hoard of a oircnmstaiioo which would doprivc him of the 
ploasuvo ho liad antioipat(>d in rosiding- undor hor roof. Ho 
uiidorstood that Aaron Burr was a boardor in tho houso, and 
he roally couKi not Uvo in tlie same liouso willi a lunu oi' that 
oharaotor. 

Tho blood of all tho INIontrosos was up in a numiont. She 
rose from hor chair, and said, with llashing oyo, and subdued 
intensity of tone : 

" You have been misinformed, sir, Colonel l>urr is ?iot a 
boardor in this houso. lie is my guest, sir, my honored guest I 
Before any boardor in this houso is served. Colonel Burr is 
served." 

Then, (urning to a servant who was waiting at tho table, 
she sai»l, in tho manner of Napoleon ordering a column to the 
attack, "Patrick, take away that person's plate, and open the 
door !" 

Patrick obeyed, anil tho "person" retired without ventur- 
ing any further observations. 

This bravo lady could not, of course, escape sharing, to some 
extent, the odiinn that surrounded the name of the man whose 
hvst days her wit and kindness cheered. 

" What do you think I've heard this morning, o(>lonol '?" 
said she to him on one occasion. " They say Pm your daugh- 
ter." 

" Well," said he, " we don't care for that, do we ?" 

" Not a bit !" was her reply. " But they say something 
else, colonel," she continued; "they say I was your mistress." 

" Do they ?" said ho, " 1 don't think wo care much for that 
either, do wo ?" 

" They must say what they choose," she replied — the gal- 
lant soldier's daughter ! 

"• I>ut," said ho, taking hor hand in both his, and lifting it 
to his lips, his hands shaking with paralysis, " PU tell you 
something ihcy /)u'(/ht say that would be true! Let them 
say this of you : JShe gave the old man a home lohen nobody 
else would /" 

He uttered those words with an emphasis so tender and 
penetrating, that two of his relatives who wore present, one a 



HIS LAST YEARS AND HOURS. Gil 

member of the hm; nti«l the other a judge, coukl not refrain 
from tears. 

To the last he was ever giving. His friend said to him 
onee, 

" T think you are not y)articular enougli in your eharities. 
'J'he man to \vh(nn you have juMt given money, 1 am sure, is a 
drunkard," 

" He may be," said Burr, " but that has nothing to do with 
wliat I gave him. He asked it for God's sake, and for God's 
sake I gave it." 

"O, eoloiKil," said she, " you can't say no; can yon?" 

" Not wlicn I have any tiling to give," he replied. " I am, 
indeed, an exquisite fool, an inimitable fool." 

As a setoff to this, it must be recorded that a dunning 
scene, of considerable violence on the part of the dumier, took 
place during these months. The man, it af)pears, called seve- 
ral times without hitling upon one of the [)enods when the 
exchequer had been very recently re[>lenished, and, of course, 
could not get his money, lie flew into a great rage, at 
length, and berated the old rnatu with fluency. IJurr made 
not the least reply to him, but waited placidly till it was over, 
and then addressed a remark on some other suhj(;ct to another 
person. The man stood a moment with a puzzled and balked 
expression of countenance, and then retired. It should be 
added that Burr's pecuniary afl'airs, at this time, were man- 
ag<Ml for him by a relative — an appli(%'ition to whom would 
n(jt have been so unsuccessful. But it is good always to l)ear 
in tnind that flerce dunning is the natural accompanimcsnt of 
loose spending. 

In tli(! s|)ring of 1836 it was apparent to those about him 
that his strength was rapidly diminishing, and that a very few 
months or weeks would terminate his mortal career. He 
knew it himself, and spoke of it without reserve. lie was 
more than resigned ; at times, he seemed slightly imjtatient 
for the closing scene. While thus waiting for death, he n(!ver 
seemed to look forward, curious to penetrate the vail, b(;hind 
\vlii(;h he was soon to pass. His mind wandered bac/civard to 
the remote past. From a long doze of some hours' duration, 



673 LIFE OF AARON BUR K. 

be Mould awnke to spoak of people at Prinoeton, whom he had 
known at college, ot' fellow soldiers in the revolutionaiy war, 
of Theodosia and her boy. lie talked sometimes of the biog- 
raphy which he knew was to be published after his ileath, 
and appeared to be anxious that, at last, his oouutryn\en 
should know him as he was. He was most concerned that his 
military career should be fully and truly related. " If they 
persist in saying that I Nyas a bad man," he said, " they sliall 
at least admit that I was a good soldier." lie wished to bo 
thought brave. In speaking of his own death he would say, 
" A braye man never fears death,'" or, " Death is terrible only 
to cowards," or, ''Death has no terrors for me." 

In the early part of June, when the Aveather grew suddenly 
warm, he was supposed for some days to be sinking. Dr. 
Hosack, who attended him, thought that a few <hiys, perhaps 
a few hours, were all that he had to live. jMr. Davis told him 
the doctor's opinion, and, in view of his approaching death, 
asked him whether, in the expedition to the South-west, ho 
had designed a separation of the Union. AVitli some impa- 
tience he replied, 

" No ; I would as soon have thought of taking possession 
of the moon, and informing my friends that I intended to 
divide it among them !" 

He revived. It chanced that the "Jay House" was that 
summer to be pulled down, and it was necessary that he should 
be removed. Lodgings were procured for him for the summer, 
at Port Richmond, on Staten Island, in a small hotel that 
stood, and still stands, a few yards from the steamboat land- 
ing. xVt parting with his kind hostess, he showed extreme 
sensibility. He was tenderly grateful to her for her unbound- 
ed goodness to liim, and expressed his gratitude in a thou 
sand quaint and delicate ways, which can scarcely be described 
in words. " What are you," he would ask, " that you should 
be so kind to the old man ?" And she \yould reply that " she 
was the little mouse that came to the help of the sick lion." 
He liked an apt reply of that kind ; afterward, he would 
often run his lingers fondly through her auburn locks, and 
call her his little mouse. He was carried to the steamboat on 



HIS LAST YEARS AND HOUR 8. 6*79 

a litter, accompanied by a few of his frionds, among wliom 
«/«<?, of coarse, was one. Slie .saw liitri safe into his apart- 
ment at Poit llichm(jnd, in which she had before phiced the 
articles essential to his comfort, and then left him in charge 
of his nurse and the man-servant before mentioned, an aged 
and responsible man. Relatives of Colonel Jiurr lived near, 
who also visited him, and saw that his wants were all supplied, 

" Good-by, colonel," said his friend, as she was leaving him 
for the night. " Good-V>y ; I shall come and see you every 
day," 

He took her hand, and raising it between his own in the 
manner of supplication, he said, in a tone of mingled tender- 
ness and fervency never to be forgotten : " May God for ever, 
and for ever, and for ever^ bless you, my last, best friend. 
When tlie iroL'R comes, I will look out, in the better country, 
for one bright spot for you — be sure." 

The sea air at first benefited him greatly ; and he even 
felt so much better as to talk of returning to the city and 
continuing his law business. His friends dissuaded him. He 
went so far as to set on foot a small intrigue with some oys- 
termcn, with the design of getting them to row him back to 
the city on the sly. The price was agreed upon, and the time 
appointed, when the plot was discovered by his fnends, and 
defeated by a counterplot. They invited him to ride. As 
the time approached when the oystermen were to meet him, 
he exhibited signs of uneasiness, and proposed, at last, that 
they should turn back. 

" Why, colonel," said one of them, " we started, you know, 
for Richmond, and I thought you were a man who always car- 
ried through what you undertook." 

" Drive on," was his quick reply ; and thus his little last 
plot was defeated. 

i^s the summer advanced his strength declined. The last 
weeks of his life were cheered by the frequent visits of the 
Rev, Dr, P, J. Vanpelt, the estimable Reformed Dutch clergy- 
man of the neighVjorhood, who was invited to attend him by 
Judge Ogden Edwards, a relative and active friend «jf Colonel 
Burr's. Burr accepted his visits and services with thankful 



680 LIFE OF AARON BURR. 

courtesy, without making any compromise of his own opin- 
ions. 

" I was uniformly received by him," M-rites Dr. Vanpelt, 
" with his accustomed politeness and urbanity of manner. 
The time spent with him at each interview — which was an 
hour, more or less — was chietly employed in religious con- 
versations, adapted to his declining health, his feeble state of 
body, and his advanced age, concluding by prayer to Al- 
miglity God for the exercise of his great mercy, the influence 
of his Holy Spirit and divine blessing. In all which he ap- 
peared to take an interest and be pleased, and particularly 
would thank me for the prayers I oftered up in his behalf, for 
my kind offices, and the interest I took in his spiritual welfare, 
saying it gave him great pleasure to see me and hear my voice. 
And when I reminded him of the advantages he had enjoyed, 
of his honored and pious ancestry, viz. : his fallier a minister 
of the Gospel, and President of the College at Princeton, New 
Jersey, and his mother a descendant of the learned and cele- 
brated divine, Jonathan Edwards ; and that doubtless many 
prayers had gone up lo heaven from the hearts of his parents 
for his well-being and hapinncss, it seemed to affect him. And 
when I asked liim as to his views of the holy Script ui'es, he 
responded — ' They are the most perfect system of truth the 
world has ever seen.' So that judging from his own declara- 
tion and behavior to me, as his spiritual adviser, he was not 
an atheist nor a deist. 

" I did not administer the holy sacrament to him, nor did 
he suggest or request me to do it. 

" In regard to other topics, in the course of repeated con- 
versations, he remarked he was near General IVIontgomery 
when he fell at Quebec ; and that notwithstanding that disas- 
ter, if the army had puslied on, they would have succeeded. 
In reference to the affair and death of General Hamilton but 
little was said. He intimated, however, that he was provoked 
to that encounter. 

" At my last interview with him, about twelve o'clock at 
noon, the day he departe<l this life, I found him, as usual, 



niS LAST YEARS AND HOURS. 681 

pleased to see me, tranquil in mind, and not disturbed by 
bodily pain. 

" Observing a paleness and change in liis countenance, and 
his pulsG tremulous, fluttering, and erratic, I asked him how 
he felt, lie replied, not so well as when I saw him last. I 
then said, ' Colonel, I do not wish to alarm you, but judging 
from the state of your pulse, your time with us is short.' He 
replied, ' I am aware of it.' It was then near one o'clock, p.m., 
and his mind and memory seemed perfect. I said to him, ' In 
this solemn hour of your apparent dissolution, believing, as 
you do, in the sacred Scriptures, your accountability to God, 
let me ask you how you feel in view of approaching eternity; 
whethei' you have good hope, through grace, that all your 
sins will be pardoned, and God will, in mercy, pardon you, for 
the sake of the merits and righteousness of his beloved Son, 
our Lord Jesus Christ, who in love suffered and died for us 
the agonizing, bitter death of the cross, by whom alone we 
can have the only sure hope of salvation ?' To which he said, 
Avith deep and evident emotion, ' On that subject I am coy ;' 
by which I understood him to mean, that on a subject of such 
magnitude and momentous interest, touching the assurance of 
his salvation, he felt coy, cautious (as the word denotes) to ex- 
press himself in full confidence. 

" With his usual cordial concurrence and manifest desire 
we kneeled in prayer before the throne of heavenly grace — 
imploring God's mercy and blessing. He turned in his bed, 
and put himself in an humble, devotional posture, and seemed 
deeply engaged in the religious service, thanking me, as usual, 
for the prayer made for him. 

" Calm and composed, I reconmiended him to the mercy of 
God, and to the word of his grace, with a last farewell-." 

The last audible word whispered by the dying man was the 
one, of all others in the language, the most familiar to his lips. 
A few minutes before he breathed his last, he lifted his hand 
with dilKculty to his spectacles, and seemed to be trying to 
take them off. His attendant asked him if he wished thcni 
removed. He nodded assent. Fixing his eyes (brilliant to 
the last) upon the spectacles in her hand, he faintly whispered, 

29* 



6S'2 LIFE OF AARON BURR. 

" Madame,- 
evidontlv moanino: that thov woro to bo ^ivon to matlamo, the 
friend of his hist voars. Ilo hn- awhile softly broathin^-. At 
two o'clock ill the at\eniooii, without a stniuiile or a sigh, as 
gently as an infant falls asleep, he ceased to live. His tViend 
arrived from the city an hour too late to close his eyes. 

He died on Wednesday, the 14tli of September, 1830, aged 
eiiihtv vears, seven months, and eight days. On the Friday 
following, his funeral was celebrated. ^V large party of gen- 
tlemen — the Messrs. Swart wont, ^Major Popham, .ludge Ed- 
wards, Mr. Davis, and several others reached Port Kichmond, 
from the city, by an early boat, '' to pay the last honors to 
Pompey," as one of them expressed it. In his last days, lie 
had requested to be buried at Princeton, as nearly as possible 
at the feet of his father and grandfather, the two presidents 
of the college, who lie side by side in its cemetery. His re- 
mains were accordingly conveyed to Princeton, acconijtanied 
by the gentlemen just named, and placed in the chapel of the 
college, where the funeral ceiemonies were to be performed. 
An impressive and charitable sermon was preached on the oc- 
casion by the Rev. Dr. Carnahan, the president of the college ; 
who, as president, resided in the very house which CoU>iiel 
Burr's father had built ninety years before, ami in which his 
sifted, erring son had been cradled. '* The f ishioii of this 
world passeth away," was the text of the discourse. The 
Cliosophic Society, of which the youtht'ul l>urr had been one 
of the tbunders, voted to attend his funeral in a body, and to 
wear the usual badge of mourning for thirty days. A yolun- 
teer company of Princeton, called the Mercer Guards, escorted 
the remains of the old soldier to the grave, and tired over it 
the customary volleys. Most of the students of the college, 
and a large concourse of the people of llu> town witnessed 
with curiosity the closing ceremonial which consigned to the 
grave all that ^y!^s mortal of Aaron Burr. Far, far, had he 
wandered from the ways of his fathers, to lie down at their 
feet at last. 

The news of his death called public attention once more 
to his character and conduct; the newspaper comment upon 



I 

I 



ni8 LAST YEARS ANT) IIOUKS. 083 

wliich was — what niiglit Iiavo hvi'u oxpcctocl. AljHtirdly fiilso 
accounts* were given of his life and death, and tlio occasion 
was improved to point a great many morals, and to adorn a 
variety of tales. One or two j>apers in this city tliat vc^nturod 
to say a few (iiijiidieious) words in ])i'aise of the dead lion, 
were shar[)ly called to order for the same by his old, but gen- 
erally honorable foe, the J^uening Post. When the Magazines 
came to review his memoirs, a few months later, the strife 
seems to have been which should lieap upon his grave tho 
greatest amomit of obloquy. The New York Jiev lew and tho 

* Aa a spocinitMi dC Iho iiowspapor stories wtill in circulation respecting 
Burr, tako tlio followiiijj:, which hiia probably appeared in (illocii hundrod 
newspapers of tho United States, besides a largo number in Knfjland and 
Scotland. As it is doatituto of ovon th(3 slightest foundation of truth, some 
body nnist have sat down and deliberately manufactured it. It has usually 
boon credited to tho I'rcshyterian. Herald : 

" 'I'hero wero some facts connected with tiio closing sconos of Mr. Burr's life 
which woro told to us soon .'iricr they occurred,. by ono who rocoivod thera 
from an eye witness, which wo do not now remember to have soon stated any 
where in print. We Hupj)oH0 lliat wo will not be consideriMl as violating tiio 
privacy of tho domestic circle in reibrring to them at this remote period after 
their ocHun'renct^ 

" During Mr. Burr's last illness, ho was very restless and impatient toward 
those who wero about his person, olli'n indulging in profane and abusive lan- 
guage. Tlis physician, ehscrving tliat niortilication had commenced in tho 
extremities, thought it his duty to inform him of tho fact, and to assure him 
that whatever preiiaration lie might wish to make for death, should bo mado 
at once. In as gentle tones as ho could command, ho broacthed tho subject, 
assuring him tiiat within twenty-four hours, at tho fartliest, he would bo a 
dead man. Mr. Burr, ' Doctor, I can't dio. I shan't die. My father and 
mother, and grand-[)arenta, and uncles and aunts, were .all pious and godly 
people; thoy prayed for my conversion ii thousand times, and if God bo a 
hearer of prayer, ho is not going to let mo dio until tlieii- prayers aro- answered. 
It is impossible tliat tiio child of so many prayers will be lost.' 

"The doctor replied, 'Mr. Burr, you are already dying.' lie tlien went 
over pretty much the same expression as given above, and sank into a stupor, 
and soon slept tho sloop wliich knows no waking until tlio morning of the 
resurn-ction. We may not have given tlio precise language used by him, aa 
ywwH have elapsed since it was rei)ortcd to us. Our informant received tho 
impression tiiat lu» liml run IIk' rounds of his L:iiquity, all tlio while indulging 
the hope that, like tiio celebrated Augustine, befure lie died he would bo con- 
verted, in aiiswcn- to the prayers of his pious parents and frieiula." 



684 T. I F E O F A A K OX B F TJ R . 

Democratic JRevieic were uii sparingly nnd Intterly severe. 
The JVorth American licview was gentler ami fairer ; but 
gave him little quarter. 

One poetical tribute was paid to liis memory by his last 
Friend. It never saw the light, and has lahi twenty-one years 
iu the blank book of the authoress unread. It was addressed 

"TO ONE ^IIOM THE WORLD REVILED. 

"To thee no widow told her woes 

And found them unredressed ; 
To thee no shivering orphan came 

But found a home and rest : 
And many — would they truth reveal — 

Have on thy bounty led, 
Who, when thine hour of sorrow came, 

The van of slander led. 
Great spirit! some, who knew thee well, 

Paid tribute to thy worth ; 
A few, who disregard the frowns 

Of groveling sons of earth. 
Around thee clung, in that dread hour 

When friendship's b;dm is sweet — 
The hour thou left this earthly bar 

The world's great judge to meet ; 
That judge who knows each various spring 

That moves the human hearty 
Who gives to Death the victory, 

But leaves the sting apai't. 
Who in the balance nicely weighs 

Our deeds of good and ill, 
Wlio knows our various faults and crimes, 

But leans to mercy still. 
Then warrior, rest I thy trial's o'er. 
And nauglit of eaith can touch thee more." 

He left no available property. A few pictures, a few me- 
mentoes of his daughter, several cart-loads of law papers, some 
sacks of letters, a few articles of office furniture, and a quan- 
tity of well-worn clothes, were all that remained of the count- 
less sums he liad received in his long career. Several years 
after his death, however, a reversionary claim which he held to 
some property, fell to the lot of his only surviving daughter, 



niR LAST TEARS AND II0UE8. 685 

who was a girl eight years of age when he diccl. The last words 
he ever sjioke to his friend were a request that she would look 
to the welfai'e of tliat child, and see, especially, that she was 
sent to good schools. That he should have made a will seemed, 
at the time, somewhat ridiculous to his friends — little dream- 
ing that it would, in a few years, secure a considerable sum 
to his daughter. 

As all in the life of Aaron Burr had something of strange- 
ness and peculiarity, it is not 'surprising, perhaps, that a stone 
could not be |>laced over his grave except in an extraordinary 
manner. Some effoits were made, and some money was sub- 
scribed, soon after his death, to procure a suitable monument, 
but the project failed through the inattention of an agent. For 
nearly two years the spot where he lay was unmarked, when 
one morning it was discovered that a small, very substantial, 
aud not inexpensive monument of granite and marbie, had 
been placed, during the night, over his remains. The cemetery 
at Princeton is situated in a somewhat thickly-inhabited lane, 
and is overlooked, in every part, by people living upon its 
borders. The principal gate is kept locked. No one in the 
town saw the monument erected, or knew, or knows any thing 
whatever respecting it. Nor was there any stone-cutter in 
the vicinity competent to execute such a piece of work. No 
relative of Colonel Burr, nor any one of my numerous inform- 
ants explains the mystery. 

The person who did the pious deed is known, however, and 
lives. Need I say, that to a woman's liberal hand Burr owes 
the stone that commemorates his name ? In an inclosure of 
the cemetery, wherein lie the honored remains of the early 
Presidents of the College of New Jersey — Burr, Edwards, 
Davies, Witherspoon, and others — stands a block of marble, 
bearing the following inscription : 

AARON BURR: 

Born February 6th, 1756. 
Died September 14th, 1836. 

A COLONEL IN TUE AKMY OF THE REVOLUTION. 
VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES FROM 1801 TO 1805. 



CHAPTER XXXYII. 

OTHER FACTS, AND SOME REFLECTION'S. 

" WiTATEVER happens,'' Burr used to say, in jocular allusion 
to the largeness of his head, " my hat^ at least, is sate : for no- 
body else can wear it.'' 

His head was large, and very peculiar. A few hours at\er 
bis death, a cast was taken of it, for the well-known phrenolo- 
gists, ]\[essrs. Fowler and Wells, of New York, who still ex- 
hibit in their cabinet the original cast. In the most striking 
manner it conlirms the view taken of the character of Burr 
in this volume. 

There are, probably, few intelligent persons now in the Uni- 
ted States who doubt that phrenology is among the means by 
which a knowledge of the character of a man may be obtained, 
Unconsciouslv or consciouslv, we have, most of us, tallen into 
the habit of nsinjr the lansiuat^e of phrenoloo:v, and lookiiiij 
at one another with the phrenologist's eye. Charlotte Bronte, 
ill describing her characters, frequently nsed language pre- 
cisely similar to that employed by a professional phrenologist. 
Note this example from the Profet^sor: "I wonder that any 
one, looking at that girl's head and countenance, would have 
received her under their roof. She had precisely the same 
shaped head as Pope Alexander the Sixth. Iter organs of 
benevolence, veneration, conscientiousness, adhesiveness, were 
singularly small ; those of self esteem, tirmness, destructive- 
ness, combat iveness, preposterously large, ller head, sloped 
up in the pent-house shape, was contracted about the foreliead, 
and prominent behind." More or less, wo all talk so of the 
people we look at with attention. Every observant person that 



OTHER FACTS, AND S O RI 10 R K F L K T 1 (1 N S . G87 

lias ever lived imist'liave boon instinollvcly a phronologist, as 
well as a pliysiDguomist. 

It is believoil by moralists, and k?ioion by phrenologists, tliat 
no man is bad IVom necessity. The best organizations need 
culture, and the very worst, by culture, can be rendered, (list, 
innoxious, then bonofioont. Phrenology has to do chielly 
with the raw material of character — the stulF it is made ol". 
It has nothing to say of the circumstances, the bi^liofs, the in- 
fluences, which nourish one class of organs, leave others dor- 
mant, and so insensibly "• mold the character." Lot no one, 
therefore, view the aimoxod account of the head of Aaron 
Burr as a justitication of his oi'rors ; but merely as a state- 
ment of his natural quality and tendencies, which it was the 
olHce of Education to correct, and of Reason to control. 

A fact should bo mentioned in elucidation of one of tho 
phrenologist's observations. There was a ron\arl<able pre(h)nj- 
inanco of the feminiue elomont in the /uli'utrd,^ sloclc. Timo- 
thy Edwards, the father of Jonathan, and, therefore Burr's 
great-grandliithor, had eleven children, of whom ten were 
daughters Jonathan Edwards had eight daughters and three 
sons. Of the grand-children of Timothy Edwards, about two 
thirds wore (hiughters. And now tho ])hronologist tells us, 
tiiat Aaron Burr himself had the temperament of a woman. 

The following statement was made by Mr. L. N. Fowler, 
who knew nothing of what I had written or discovered re- 
specting Aaron Huir, and of whom I asked only the unrelent- 
ing truth : 

"PHRENOLOGICAL CHARACTER 

OP 

AARON BURR, 

DEDUCED FROM AN ORIGINAL OAST OF HIS HEAD. 

"The physiological organization of Aaron Burr was distin- 
guished for very line texture and a great degree of suscepti- 
bility, intensity, and aidor, caused by a prodtHninance of the 
nervous temporament, with a very active condition of the ar- 



688 LIFE OF AAEON HU u R . 

torial systoiu. In taot, all tho oro-ans aiul riiMctions oCliiscon- 
stitulioM wore romarkably notivo, and iho ciroulalion must 
havo bi'on unnsnally quu'k and iVoo. 

" Thoro was not so niiu'h of (Iio bony and nmscular systeni 
as to be an inipodinient to bis activity, yet tlioro was a sufli- 
ciont dogroo ol' tlio nuUivo tcniporaniont to oivo stronutb and 
t*>naoity of organization, lie was of small size, and well pro- 
portioned, but tbe brain was lar<ie (or tlie body ; lience he was 
cbaracterized bv mi-ntal, rather than by nhvsieal ahilitv. Snch 
was the harmony between tho lunetions of the bi)dy as to in- 
dicate unusual health, vivacity, and power to endure without 
premature exhaustion. His temperament was more peculiarly 
that of a woman, joined to the mental qualities of the mas- 
culine. 

"His Phrenological de\ elo]>ments were marked and pecu- 
liar, and gave him a strong individuality of character. Ilia 
bead was of rather large size, and fully develoiuHl in most 
jiarts. The hair, at the time of his death, being almost gone, 
left his head nearly bare, so thai the cast taken after death 
indicates the real development of the organs, and thereby at- 
Ibrds a most valuable stutly. 

" His intellectual development shows that all the perce|)tivo 
organs are proniinent ; whit-h, with his temperament and sus- 
ceptibility, gave him an unusual degree of observation, ao- 
cui'acy of perception, ability to accumulate^ knowledge, and 
capacity to bring his powers to bear directly upon the subject 
in hand, or object he wislied to elVcct. lie had a wonderful 
nienu)ry of every thing he saw, of places, faces, antl propor- 
tions. His mechanical eye must have been remarkably cor- 
rect, which, joined to Locality, Individuality, and Weight, 
gave him ease and grace of motion, extraordinary powers as 
a marksmim, and good judgn\ent of the (pialities and condi- 
tions of things. His lui'mory of events, sense of order and 
arrangement, perception of colors, ability in figures, and love 
of music, were comparatively good. His sense of Wit was 
decidedly promiiu>nt, and he had uncommon power t(> use his 
mirthful emotions, in appreciating the ridiculous, or wielding 
the weapons of satire appropriately and readily. 



OTHER FACTS, AND SOME REFLECTIONS. 689 

"The roasoiiiri;^ oVj^uns wore; riithor largo, hut Horncwhiit 
inferior to tlio perceptions. Tlu; strongtli of the reasoning 
faculties was made to appear conspicuous, in consequence of 
his clearness of percej>tion, sharpness of analysis, facility of 
expression, policy of airangement, and power to illurninato 
his own side of a subject, and to inagtietizo his hearers into 
an accej^tance of his opinions and an adherence to his cause. 
The intellectual faculties, as a whole, gave liim superior influ- 
ence over other men, not only in consequence of the great 
activity of his mind, l>ut the peculiar power he had to use his 
knowledge and talents to advantage. I lis Language was large, 
which er:ahled him to communicate his ideas, and tell what he 
knew. lie was cof>ious and pertinent in speech, full and free 
in his powers to explain, and decidedly easy and oif-hand as 
an orator. This quality, connected with his ready mcjmory, 
pow(."r of analysis, and fc'rvor of mind, gave fiim great influ- 
ence over others in conversation. He had an eye of |)eculiar 
brilliancy and fascination, and when, from under his finely 
arched, perceptive brow, he bent his burning gaze upon a 
person, his words seemed like potential oracles, and gave 
him f)eculiar power over those whom he wislied to sway. 

" His executive faculties were all strong. His head being 
decidedly broad about the ears, gave him an unusual degree 
of force, resohition, enei'gy, spirit, and coui-age, amounting at 
times to audacity, and a feeling of intense severity when ex- 
cited. His Alimentiveness appears to liave been only average 
in develo|)ment, which, if not perverted, would have allowed 
liim to live a sober and temperate life. Acquisitiveness not 
being specially large, he was doubtless generous, liberal, and 
free in the use of money, caring for it more to expend than to 
lay up. .S(;cretiveness was large, which im|nirted tact, power 
of concealment, and ability to manage, and led to adroitness, 
and even cunning and duplicity ; but Cautiousness not l>eing 
large, he was liable to ho indiscreet and impulsive, and when 
acting on th(; spur of the moment, and in a state of excite- 
ment, lie would be rash and impetuous. He could plot well, 
but could not execute safely. His acts may have beoTi done 
in secret, but so done that they would ultimately be exposed. 



690 LIFE OF AARON BURK. 

" His moral brain, was, in some respects, strong, and in 
others weak. Ills head, as a whole, was high, but contracted 
on the top. He had a full development of Benevolence, which 
gave him sympathy and generosity of feeling; and this benev- 
olence, in the absence of influential Acquisitiveness, would lead 
him to be decidedly generous hearted in the use of money. 
He was urbane, kind, and ready to render service. His Ven- 
eration was large, which must have had power to check his 
passions, and lead him to be mindful of superiors, and also 
serve to give him a respectful and deferential address. His 
sense of nobility and aristocracy, and consciousness of superior 
power, was a prominent feature of his mind. Through the in- 
fluence of Veneration, he could appear devotional, and thus in- 
spire confidence in others, and lead them to trust to his lion- 
esty. He had very large F'irmness, which gave him unusual 
determination of mind and disposition to carry out his desires 
and purposes, and which, connected with his Destructiveness, 
rendered him unusually efiicient and vigorous in resisting op- 
position froni others, and in overcoming obstacles. He had a 
good degree of Imitation, which, with his Benevolence, enabled 
him to adapt himself to others, and thus render himself easy 
and agreeable. 

" Spirituality appears to have been very weak, which left 
his mind without much regard for such features of religion as 
depend on faith ; hence he was skeptical, and a doubter. His 
Hope appears to have been large, giving enterprise, sanguine, 
speculative, and venturesome feelings, and a desire to engage 
in business of a hypothetical, prospective, and promising na- 
ture. He was not easily discouraged, but always confident 
of success. His Conscientiousness was moderate, and not 
strong enough to have a regulating influence on his mind. 
This faculty and Cautiousness, both being inferior, left his 
feelings without balancing-power ; hence, while he lacked 
honesty, he had neither prudence nor circumspection — had 
not the restraining influence of the sense of danger nor of 
punishment. His impulses were developed at pleasure, and 
the various faculties gratified as they clamored for action. 
Whatever faculty was most excited for the time being, swayed 



OTHER FACTS, AND SOME REFLECTIONS. 691 

his mind ns a wliole ; tlms, tlie acts of his life were contradic- 
tory, and his cliaracter did not harmonizu with itself. Had 
these two faculties of prudence and honesty been more prom- 
inent, he would have been able so to regulate his conduct as 
to have made almost an entire change in his whole life and 
character, 

" Tiie crown of his head was very high, showing large Self- 
esteem and A])probativeness, indicating pride, dignity, con- 
sciousness of self-importance, ambition, desire to please, and 
to gain distinction and fame. Such a mind, connected with 
such ambition, could not be contented in private life, nor bear 
to be rc])ulsed, put down, or superseded by others ; for such 
pride, joined with such sensitiveness, produces a character 
which is easily wounded. He had a great discernment of 
character, and power to read tlie spirit and tone of another 
person's mind. lie was exceedingly winning in his manners, 
through his politeness, ambition, selt-complacency, blandness 
of manner, respectfulness of demeanor, and ready, available 
intellect, connected with that personal address and lutter of 
eye which few men possessed. 

"He had large Continuity, which gave power to apply the 
mind to one subject, and to think closely and connectedly ; 
and he was much indebted to this persistency of mmd for his 
success in scholarship, in his profession, and in politics. 

" His social brain was unevenly developed, and should have 
been a peculiar point in his character, and given eccentricity 
to the atfections. He lacked local attachment ; was naturally 
inclined to travel, and loved the variety and excitement which 
new places and scenes presented. He had not consistent and 
permanent love, nor was he uniformly interested in children, 
as such ; and though sons would excite his ambition, a beau- 
tiful daughter would awaken far more aifection. He had but 
little Adiiesiveness ; was not a permanent friend, and could 
not be relied upon in this respect. He may have been ardent 
and sincere for the time being, but change of scene and so- 
ciety would equally affect his attachments, unless they were 
fortified by other considerations. His attachments were more 



692 LIFE OF AARON BURR. 

extended and influenced by ambition, than confiding and do- 
mestic in their character. 

" His Amativeness was very large, and very sharply devel- 
oped in the head, indicating great intensity, power, and ac- 
tivity. This must have been one of the leading features of his 
character. The relationship between his mind and woman ; 
the power he exerted over her, and the intense passion he 
manifested for her, are in strict harmony with his organiza- 
tion. The love-passion was inordinate, which, connected with 
his other peculiar qualities, must have given hira a winning 
power and captivating influence over woman seldom equaled. 
With his very high tone of organization, he was not so likely 
to become vulgar and gross in this feeling so as to yield to the 
lower forms of its gratification, as would one of a coarser oi'- 
ganization with the same development of Amativeness. He 
would always be the gentleman, and seek associates among 
the cultivated and refined. With the exception of the excess 
of this faculty, and tjiat of Destructiveness, and the weakness 
of Conscientiousness and Cautiousness, his organization was 
comparatively unexceptionable ; and, but for these defects, he 
mi<i-ht have been one of the most brilliant characters that ever 
figured in the pages of American history. Seldom do we find 
so much executiveness, ambilion, manliness, strength of pur- 
pose, intuition of mind, natural eloquence, polite address, and 
ability completely to magnetize and captivate others, as his 
organization indicates." 

Thus, the phrenologist. 

Add, mentally, to his statement, that Aaron Burr was left 
an oi-phau in liis infancy ; that he Avas brought up by a well- 
intentioned, severe, ungenial Puritanic relative ; that he 
was reared in a religion which did not engage his aflTections, 
nor satisfy his intellect, and which, therefore, did less than 
nothing for his moral nature ; that he was educated in the 
Voltairian, Chesterfieldian period, so quickening to the intel- 
lect, so lulling to the conscience ; and that his early military 
career kept in the most vigorous exercise, for four or five years, 
all the strong executive points of his character, and left in 
comparative inaction those prudential and higher moral qual- 



OTHER J' ACTS, AND SOME REFLECTIONS. 693 

ities which most needed strengthening. Consider, too, how 
the circumstances of his life seemed to compel him to be 
always giving, so that, at last, he appeared to have quite lost 
the power of discriminating between the luxury of generosity 
and the duty of honesty. And then, think, how bitterly and 
long he exjjiated liis errors, and how loftily he bore his mis- 
fortunes, and how suj^erior he ever was to the weakness of 
self-vindication, and how many worse men than he have been 
borne triumphantly along to the close of their lives, and fol- 
lowed to the grave by the acclamations of a nation. 

To judge this man, to decide how far he was unfortunate, 
and how far guilty ; how much we ought to pity, and how 
much to blame hina — is a task beyond my powers. And what 
occasion is there for judging him, or for judging any one? 
We all know that his life was an unhappy failure. He failed 
to gain the small honors at which he aimed ; he foiled to live 
a life worthy of his opportunities ; he failed to achieve a char- 
acter worthy of his powers. It was a great, great pity. And 
any one is to be pitied who, in thinking of it, has any other 
feelings than those of compassion — compassion for the man 
whose life was so much less a blessing to him than it might 
have been, and compassion for the country, which after pro- 
ducing so rare and excellent a kind of man, lost a great part 
of the good he might have done her. 

The great error of his career, as before remarked, was his 
turning politician. He was too good for a politician, and not 
great enough for a statesman. If he had been brought up 
wisely, and then subjected to a hard early experience of pov- 
erty and toil, he might have acquired that moral quality 
which, in connection with his keen, ready intellect, and his 
tremendous propelling power, would have made him the great- 
est teacher of the young, that, perhaps, ever existed. Nature 
meant him for that. In the present condition of the school- 
master's craft, degraded and paralyzed as it is by its connex- 
ion with the State, drawing its support from the people in the 
odious form of a tax, reducing a teacher to the level of a com- 
mon office-holder, and makmg him the hireling of ignorant, or 
narrow, or dissolute trustees — it seems ridiculous to say of 



694 LIFE OF AARON BURR. 

any man that lie might liave been a great and brilliant in- 
structor of youth ! Yet that was precisely the vocation of all 
others that Aaron Burr would have excelled in, and would 
have chosen, if he had been as good, as he was acute, kind, 
and energetic. He wonld have founded a school that would 
have done as much for the enliglitomnciit of Man as Prince- 
ton has done for the advancement of a Sect. 

As it was, he did the State some service, though they know 
it not. By being the first to turn to practical account the in- 
herent weakness of our Constitution, by teaching the Demo- 
cratic Party how to carry elections, by the invention of Fili- 
bustering, by giving the country and General Jackson a taste 
for south-western acquisition, thus marshaling events the way 
that they would go, he, at least, accelerated the history of his 
country. In the wrong direction, you will say ; true, but it 
was the direction in which the country was destined to go, 
and go as far as the road led. 

Ilis duel with Hamilton had the effect, finally, of rendering 
the practice of dueling entirely odious in the northern States. 
That was a benefit. In suffering the consequences of that af- 
fair, he simply expiated the sins of his generation, and the ex- 
piation fell, not unjustly, upon him. He ought to have known 
better, and, knowing better, he had the fortitude to bear the 
scoffs of cowards. lie was, upon the whole, I am inclined to 
think, a better man than Hamilton ; and it was well ordered, 
that by being the survivor, he should have had the loorst of 
the encounter. 

It is to be said in praise of Burr, that in the various offices 
held by him, he acquitted himself well, He was an indefati- 
gable and useful Senator; a Vice-President of ideal excellence. 
If he had been elevated a step higher, his Washingtonian 
habit of taking the best advice before finally deciding upon an 
important measure, would have prevented his making serious 
mistakes. He would have been a good President. Instead 
of plundering the treasury of his country, as Hamilton pre- 
dicted, he would have been more likely to spend twice his in- 
come in supporting the " dignity" of the office, and to have 
passed from the White House to the court of bankruptcy. 



OTHER FACTS AND SOME REFLECTIONS. 695 

If his expedition had succeeded, it was in him, I think, to 
nave run a career in Spanish America similar to that of Napo- 
leon in Europe, Like Napoleon, he would have been one of 
the most amiable of despots, and one of the most destructive. 
Like Napoleon, he would have been sure, at last, to have been 
overwhelmed in a prodigious ruin. Like Napoleon, he would 
have been idoUzed and execrated. Like Napoleon, he would 
have had his half dozen friends to go with him to his St. Helena. 
Like Napoleon, he would have justified to the last, with the 
utmost sincerity, nearly every action of his life. 

We live in a better day than he did. Nearly every thing is 
better now in the United States than it was fifty years ago, 
and a much larger proportion of the people possess the means 
of enjoying and improving life. If some evils are more obvi- 
ous and rampant than they were, they are also better known, 
and the remedy is nearer. Every one begins to see, with 
more or less clearness, that the public business can never be 
well done until it is done upon the principles which make pri- 
vate business safe and profitable. The spectacle of an intelli- 
gent community throwing itself, every few months, into a vio- 
lent, expensive, and demoralizing agitation of the question 
Who shall keep the public books '? is felt to be irrational and 
ridiculous. By degrees, the truth becomes apparent that the 
thing to be done is to take all the oftices out of politics, and to 
introduce into all branches of the public service the principles 
of permanence and promotion for merit alone, upon which the 
people conduct their own affairs, and without which no pri- 
vate establishment could exist. 

Politics, apart from the pursuit of office, have again become 
real and interesting. The issue is distinct and important 
enough to justify the intense concern of a nation. To a young 
man coming upon the stage of life with the opportunities of 
Aaron Burr, a glorious and genuine political career is possible. 
The dainty keeping aloof from the discussion of public aftairs, 
which has been the fashion until lately, will not again find 
favor with any but the very stupid, for a long time to come. 
The intellect of the United States, once roused to the consider- 



690 LIFE OF AARON BURR. 

ation of political questions, will tioubtless be found competent 
to the M'ovk demanded of it. 

The career of Aaron Burr can never be repeated in the 
United States. That of itself is a proof of progress. The 
game of politics which he played is left, in those better days, 
to fur inferior men, and the moral license which he and Ham- 
ilton permitted themselves is not known in the circles they 
frequented. But the graver errors, the radical vices, of both 
men belong to human nature, and will always exist to be 
shunned and battled. 



INDEX. 



*.DAiK, Gen. Favors Burr's expedition, 411. 
Absent I'lom court in Frankfort, 420. Ar- 
rested, 434. E.Konerates Burr, 493. 

idaiiis, Francis. Quoted, '236. 

Idaiiis, .Jolin. Reiuark rcspectingWrtshing- 
ton, 97. Eespcctini; tlio leiral profession 
before Revolution, 1.30. Extols Burr as a 
soldier, 140. His vote for vice-president 
in 1TS9, 191. lie-elected, 194. Elected 
President, 19S. CJuoted respeellns parties 
before lievohition, 2 8. (Jonversationi be- 
tween Adaius, Jefferson and Hamilton, 
218. (Juoted upon the terrorism of 1T93, 
220,221. His character, 22,5. Quoted rc- 
speetins Hamilton's power, 231. Quoted 
respeetinj; ISurr's career, 2.3i5. Res|>ecting 
Ihuiiilton's scheme to elect I'inckney, 245. 
Conversation witli Jetferson, 25.5. Thought 
]IaM\ilton the cause of his downfill, 2.58. 
Loses election for second term, 201. His 
works, 202. Conversation with Jefferson 
on t!ie tie, 290. Leaves Washington in 
disgust, 295. Quoted on democracy, 295. 
Woo I's Suppressed History of Adams' 
Administration, 311. .\dams upon Ham- 
ilton's licentiousness, 049. 

Adams, .'olin Qiiiney, 323. 

Adams, Samuel. Candidate for third vice- 
presi lent, 198. 

Alban}-. Burr's residence there, 134. Difli- 
culty of getting there in olden time, 159. 
How built before rev( lution, 5G3. 

Allen, Col. 419. 

Alston, ,\arou Burr. Born, 299. Beloved by 
Bun, 300. Gamp and the gout,3li0. Burr's 
care for him, .550, 576. His death, .597. 

Alston. Joseiih. Letter from Burr, 279. 
Married to Theo. Burr, 293. His charac- 
ter. 298. Letter from 15urr on judiciary 
bill, 310. Letter from Burr before duel 
with Hamilton. 351. After duel, 3G5, 36G, 
379. Visited by Burr, 402. Aided Burr 
in expedition, 410. Joins Burr, 418. De- 
nounced by Jefferson, 450. Present at 
Burr's trial, 4S3. Letter from Bun- about 
Binlham, 021. About Theo., 527. Account 
with London bookseller, 532. }51enner- 
h.assett demands money, 560. Announces 
de.ath of his son, 597. Letter from Burr 
upon Jackson, 6u7. 

Anecdotes. Of Burr's childhood, 51, 52. 



Burr and the Princeton professor, 55. 
Jean Paul and the Corrector of llof, 61. 
The Litchfield riot, 65. Burr's encounter 
with Indians on Sorrel river, 79. Miss 
Moncrieffe and Gen. Washington, 9i). Burr 
and Neddy, 99. Quell's mutiny near Val- 
ley Forge, 106. Col. Burr's son, 110. 
Gedney redressed. 114. Visits his lady- 
love by night, 119. Burr and the mule, 
123. Burr and the murderer, 14S. Ruse 
upon Hamilton, 149. Sudden death of a 
client, 151. The little French irirl, 206. 
Tlie Paris courtezans, 221. The Philadel- 
phia barber, 223. Hamilton, Wilkinson, 
and •' Little Burr," 237. Incident of duel 
between Burr and Church, 240. Election 
anecdotes, 251. Gamp and the gout, 310. 
The judge swamped, 303. After duel, 864. 
The border landlord, 451. Burr's appeal 
to people inS. C, 4.52. Burr and the jailor, 
479. Burr and the juror, 484. The Rogues' 
March. 512. Bentham's absence of mind, 
523. The lady dentist, .545. Burr and the 
sentinel at Erfurth, 518. Ball at Frar.k- 
fort, .5,50. Burr ami the old soldier, 589. 
Incidents on Fairfield sloop, 593. Theo.'s 
trunk, ODO. Burr and the dead child, 001. 
Advice to l.ady seeking divorce, 010. Ex- 
jiounders of the constitution, 613. Burr 
and Gen. Scott, 614. Wax-works exhibi- 
tion, 010. Burr challenged by J. A. Ham- 
ilton, 616. Visit to scene of duel, 616. 
Meeting of Burr and Mrs. Hamilton, 618. 
Dead shot at Utica, 619. Story of Van- 
derlyn, 020. Burr and the ladies, 622. 
15urr and his l)rotegt^ 623. Burj- and his 
aunt, 024. Opinion of God's goodnes.s, 626. 
Indifference to censure, 626. Burr and 
Engfish colonel, 627. Scene in Court, 628. 
The corpse in custody, 62S. The fifty 
dollar note, 630. Goes to see Fannv Kem- 
ble, 635. " They say," 637. Wilberforce, 
637. Lady and M. L. Davis, 041. The 
lock of hair, 643. Acknowledging the 
cliild, 6,53. Miss K. yet, 654. Burr and 
old woman, 055. Another, 057. Denies 
seduction, 659. Burr and British oflieer, 
668. Burr and Texas, 070. The phren- 
ologist, 671. Sterne and Voltaire, 673. 
Burns quoted, 674. Stories of Burr's lost 
days, 675, 676, 677, 678, 679. 



C98 



IITDEX. 



Arculariiis, Philip J., 24S. 

Arinstrona, James. Candidate for first vice- 
president, 191. Quoted by Jefferson, 2S9. 
Provided for, SOT. Inimical to Burr in 
Paris, 555. 

Arnold, Benedict. Commands expedition 
to Quebec, 6S. Appoints Burr to convey 
message to Montgomery, Tl. Lost Quebec 
by treason of an Indian, 72. Appoints 
Burr Brigade Major, 77. Burr's opinion 
of Arnold, 78. 

Arnold, Mrs. Scene at Mrs. Provost's, 126. 

Artliur, Kev. Thomas, 33, 34. 

Badcock, Dr., 246. 

Bailv, Francis. Describes New Orleans, 892. 

Baker, Jack, 402. 

Baigiav. Lord. Letter from Burr, 576. 

Bank o"f New York. Fac-siiuile of check, 237. 

Bard, Dr. Entertained by Theo., 204. 

Barney, John. Burr's amanuensis during 
trial, 4S1. His narrative, 481, 611, 641. 

Barrow. Green, 520. 

Baton liouge, 39S, 428. 

Bass.ano, Due de. Minister of Napoleon, 570. 
Lends Burr money, 572. Aids Burr to get 
passport, 574. Never repaid. 605. 

Bayard, James A. Letter from Hamilton on 
the tie, 271. Keply, 272. Second letter 
from Hamilton ou same, 279. Elects Jef- 
ferson, 292. Letter to Hamilton on Burr 
at Washington banquet, 314. Correspon- 
dence with Hamilton on Chris. Constitu- 
tional Soc, 315, 310. Defends Burr against 
Cheethani, o.'l. 

Bayou, Pierre, 4-S9, 440. 

Belcher, Jonathan. Governor of New Jer- 
sey. Receives decree of M. A., at Prince- 
ton, 35. His doatii, 46. 

Belknap, Mr., 491. 

Bellainv, Dr. Joseph. His theological school 
attended by Burr, 61. His method of in- 
struction, 01. 

Bentham, Jeremy. BuiT admires his writ- 
ings, 155. Burracquainted with, 519. Car- 
lyie's opinion of, 519. Narrates his meetiog 
Burr, 5i0. Burr's opinion of, 521. Letter to 
Lord Holland about Me.xico, 522. Opinion 
of Burr. 523. Absence of mind, 523. E.k- 
tuUed by Burr at O.Kford, 529. At Edin- 
burgh, 531. Letter from Burr, 586. Wel- 
comes Burr again, 573. 

j>«ntliam, Sir Samuel, 527. 

Biddle, Commodore, 373. 

Bidwell, Barnabas, 310. 

■•Jirmingh.am. Burr's visit to, 529. 
Slack, Capt. Serves under Burr, 117. 

^lennerhassett, Harinan. Residence, 3SS. 
Visited by Burr, 3S9, 401. Letter from 
Burr about expedition. 402. Replies, 403. 
Second letter from Burr, 405. Aids expe- 
diti(m, 411. Writes articles against the 
Union, 417. Meets Graham, 435. Aban- 
dons island, 437. Arrested, 442. Indicted, 
476. In prison, 4S3. His diary, 5!l2. Not 
S'uined through Burr, 505. Demands money 
of Alston, 506. Burr's opinion of. 615. 

Blennorhassett Island. Picture of, 3SS. Part 
of Va., 4-36. Laid waste, 4:J7. Described 
by W'rt, 499. 



Blennerhassctt, Mrs. Entertains Eurr, 8S9, 
401, 411. Eager for the expc.Iition, 4-36. 
Left on island, 437. Abandons island, 433. 
Letter to lier husband, 5U1. Man-igcs 
plantation, ."iOo. Burr aids, 615. 

Bloomfield, Gov., 322, 373. 

Bogart, Rev. David. Marries Burr and Mrs. 
Prevost, 1-33. Marries Burr and Madamo 
Juniel, 603. 

Bollman, Erick. Aids expedition, 411. Ar- 
rested, 434. 

Bonaparte, Jerome. Entertained by Burr, 
3ill. Burr solicits, 553, 554. 

Bonap.arte, Josepli, 515. 

Bonaparte, Napoleon. His power in 1S05, 
407. Position in ISOS, 517. Assents to in- 
dependence of Mexico, 546. Burr ad- 
dresses, 553, 559. Burr's opinion of bis 
government, 576. 

Botts, Benjamin. Counsel for Burr, 462. 
Defines treason, 470. 

Bowrinic, John. Quoted, .'522. 

Braddock's Defeat. Reflections thereon by 
Rev. A. Burr and Jonath.an Edwards, 41. 

Brant. Entertained bv Burr and Theo., 204 

Bridgewater, Lord, 61S, 524. 

Brown, Dr., 373. 

Brown, John, 289. 

Bruin, Judge, 441. 

Brurfel, Mr., 580. 

Bunker Hili, Battle of. Effect of the news, 6T. 

Burke, Judge. Burr's second in duel with 
Church, 240. 

Burling, Walter. Sent by Wilkinson to 
Mexico, 43;). 

Burr, A.aron. Born, 45. Orphaned, 49. 
Runs away .at four ye.ars of age, 51. Anec- 
dote of the cherry tree and silk dress, 51. 
Second running away, 52. As a school 
boy, 53. Enters college of N. J., 54. As 
a student, 54. Forswears gambling, 54. 
Anecdote of I5urr and the professor, 55. 
College compositions, 56. Ati'ected by the 
revival, 57. Writes in cipher to his sister, 
59. Graduates, 59. Attemls Dr. Bellamys 
theological school, 61. Abandons theology, 
62. His cli.ar.acter as a young man, 64. 
Joins the rioters in Litchfield, 05. Begins 
to study law. 05. Joins the army near 
Boston. 67. Joins Arnolil's expedition to 
Quebec, 68. Uncle Timothy dissuades him, 
69. The march, 70. Conveys message 
from Arnold to Montgomery, 71. Ap- 
pointed aid to Montgomery, 72. Burr .at 
the assault of Quebec, 73, 74. Carries off 
the body of Montgomery, 76. Leaves 
Canada, "78. Resides with Washington, 
81. Reasons for his leaving the general, 
81. Appointed aid to Putnam, SI. Burr's 
oi)inion of Washington, S3. Burr at battle 
of L. I., So. Saves brigade at retreat from 
N. Y., 86. Acquaintance with Miss Mon- 
crielfe, 89. Appointed lieut. col., 96. 
Drills regiment, 98. Captures i)ieket, 102. 
Meets Mrs. Prevost, ll)4. Commands post 
near Valley Forge, 105. Quells mutiny, 
106. Commands brigade at battle of Mon- 
mouth, 107. Commands at West Point, 
109. Commands Westchester lines. 111. 
Puts down plundering, 114. Hi» mi)'ta-y 



INDEX. 



699 



habits, 11(5. Rppels Gov. Tryon, lir. 
Burns block fort, 117. Visits Mrs. Pro- 
vost by nii;lit, 118. Lcivvcs nriny, 120. 
Heads stiiilonts at New JIavon, 124. Meets 
Mrs. Aiin)l(l, 120. Hurr's ireiior(wity, 12S. 
Uesuinos tlie law, 181. His lavorito au- 
tliors, 132. Ailinitted to bar, 13-1. His 
fondness ol' protest's, 130. Marries Mrs. 
Prevost, 13S. Kemoves to New York, 139. 
His cliaracter as a lawyer, 146. His in- 
jonie, 153. Style of livins, l.')4. His fa- 
vorite .Tuthors. 15.1. His domestic happi- 
ness, 15G. Klefrant letter to his wife, 100. 
Elected to le4;islatnro, 100. Opposes Me- 
chanics' Guild, 100. The Burrites, 170. 
His opinion of the federal constitution, 
172. Espouses anti-lcdcral party, 172. 
Supports Gates for governor, 173. Ap- 
pointed attorney general, 174. Commis- 
sioner on revolutionary claims, 174. Com- 
missioner of land oftice, 175. Elected U. 
S. senator, 170. Takes his seat, ISl. His 
address to president, 1S2. Forbidden to 
search archives, ISO. Proposed for gov- 
crnoi', 186. His opinion on the disputed 
election, 189. Declines judgeship, 190. 
Gets one vote for vice-president, 194. Thir- 
ty votes in 1792, 198. His tenderness to his 
wife, 200. Educates his daughter, 201. 
Care of his servants, 20."). Loses re-elec- 
tion to senate, 229. Ueturns to assembly, 
232. Establishes Manhattan bank, 238. 
Lost election in consequence, 239. Duel 
with Church, 240. Election of 1800, 247. 
Exposes Hamilton's scheme toolect Pinck- 
nev, 257. ir^uiinated vice-president, 259. 
Th'o tie, 201. Letter to Wilkinson, 204. 
Letter to 8. Smith on tie, 206. To Alston 
on same, 279. Elected vice-president, 292. 
Toasted at Albany, 294. As vice-president, 
297. As father in-law, 298. Courts Celeste, 
801. No basis in politics, 805. Disap- 
proves of addresses, 308. The judiciary 
bill, 809. Suppresses Wood's pamphlet, 
812. Indifference to scandal, 313. Toast 
at Washington banquet, 313, 314. Denies, 
Intriguing for presidency, 322. Interview 
with Jetl'erson, 327. Nominated governor 
of N. y., 830. The contest, 834, 835. 
Causes of duel with Hamilton, 839. Hos- 
tile correspondence, 840. Meets Hamilton 
at banquet of Cincinnati, 348. Last letters 
befiuo duel, 851. Duel, 355. Coroner's 
verdict, 353. Coolness' after duel, 304. 
Flight, 366. Sails for St. Simons, 371. 
Visits Theo., 872. Tries Judge Chace, 373. 
Leaves senate, 874 Goes west, 387. Visits 
Blcnnerhas.sctt, 389. At New Orleans, 391. 
Keturns to Nashville, 393. Meets Wilkin- 
son at St. Louis, 400. Dines with Jeffer- 
son, 401. Asks Jetferson for appointment, 
404. Plan of expedition to Mexico, 408, 
412. Sends Swartwout to Wilkinson, 413. 
Follows, 413. Frightens the Morg.ans, 415. 
His veracity, 410. Proceeded against by 
Daviess, 413. Acquitted, 422. The cipher 
letter to Wilkinson, 427. Descends Cum- 
berland, 438. Surrenders. 440. Flies to 
wilderness, 442. Arrested, 447. Starts 
eastward, 443. Beaches Bichmond, 458. 



.Examined, 454. Admitted to bail, 455. 
Jetferson his prosecutor, 450. His appear- 
ance in court, 461. Sjieech, 467. Indicted, 
476. Imprisoned, 477. Arraigned, 485. 
Acquitted, 508. Leaves Baltimore, 512. 
Sails for Europe, 513. Claims British 
citizenship, 510. Meets Benthain, 520. 
Sends for Theo., 527. Travels northward, 
528. Arrested, 533. Letter to Lord Liv- 
erpool, 530. Arrives at Stockholm, 537. 
Leaves Sweden, 543. At Weimar, 546. 
At Gotha, 549. At Frankfort, 550. At 
I'aris, 551. Passports refused, 555. Ad- 
dresses emperor, 559. Poverty, 562. Cures 
chimney, 562. Betrayed, 567. Meets 
Denon, 570. Bassano, 572. Visits Holland, 
573. Carried to England, 577. Poverty in 
London, 576. Reaches Boston, 585. At 
Custom House, 587. Beaches New York, 
694. Begins business, 596. Death of 
grandson, 597. Death of Theo., 599. His 
debts, 604. Medeef Eden case, 608. In- 
cest case, 010. His habits, 612. Visit to 
scene of duel, 010. Meets Vanderlyn, 620. 
His prot6g6s, 622. Receives warning let 
ter, 024. Money habits, 629. Journey to 
Albany, 634. Burr in his otlice, 634. Sees 
Fanny Kemble, 635. Will quoted, 639. 
Letter to daughter of old friend, 644. 
Man of gallantry, 651. Married to Madama 
Jumel, 603. Separated, 005. Struck with 
paralysis, 067. His last friend, 669. Death, 
682. Monument, 685. Phrenological char- 
acter, 687. 
Burr, Rev. Aaron. Birth and education, 31. 
Account of his conversion, 81. His preach- 
ing described, 32. Character as a teacher, 

83. Presides at flr.st commencement of 
Princeton College, 83. His Latin speech, 

84. Personal appearance, 80. Attainments, 
87. Marriage, 37. Oddity of the court- 
ship, 88. Compared with Jonathan Ed- 
wards, 89. His publications, 89. Letter 
to Mr. Hogg, 40. Portrait, 43. Removes 
to Princeton, 45. Death, 46. 

Burr, Sarah. Born, 45. Her career, 50. De- 
scribed by Burr, 592. 

Burr, Thaddeus, 63, 598. 

Burr, Theodosia. Born. 189. As a child, 
155. Her education, 162, 201, 202, 208. 
She entertains Brant, 204. Married, 298. 
Describes Manhattan Island, 299. Explains 
Celeste, 808. Intimate with Mrs. Madison, 
817. Letters from Burr upon election for 
governor of N. Y., .335. Letters from Burr 
before duel with Hamilton, 847, 851. 
After duel, 870, 371. Visited bv Burr 
- after duel, 872. Toasted at New Orleans, 
894. Promoted expedition, 410. Goes 
west with Burr, 413. Attends ball at 
Marietta, 416. Reaches Blennerhassett 
Island, 417. Letters from Burr on his 
reaching Richmond, 458. Letters during 
trial, 480. Arrives at Richmond, 480. To 
have been Queen of Mexico, 494. Letter 
announcing acquittal, 509. Letter from 
Burr on trial for misdemeanor, 511. Part- 
ing with her father, 514. Letters from him 
in Europe, 516, 520, 540, 568, 575, 576, 579. 
Corresponds with Bentham, 522. Letters 



700 



INDEX 



to Burr, 526, 538, 564. Letter to Gallatin, 
505. Announces death of her son, 597. 
Her death, 599. Character, 600. 

Cabot, Senator, 261. 

Cadoie, Due de. Burr meets, 552. 

Cambiidiie. Condition of the camp there 
in 17To, 67. 

Cannonsburg, O., 413. 

Carlyle. Quoted, 62, 519, 613. 

Cavnahan, Kev. Dr., 632. 

Carroll, of CarroUton. Preferred Burr to 
Jefferson, 261. 

Castle i-eagli. Lord, 515, 516. 

Catharine of Russia, 15S. 

Celeste. Courted by Burr, 301, 3T0. 

Chace, Judge. Trial of, 373. 

Chester, S. C, 451. 

Cheetham, James. Editor of Am. Citizen, 
8U7. Denounces suppression of Wood's 
pamphlet, 312. Nine letters against Burr, 
813. Challenged by Coleman, 826. Op- 
poses Burr for governor of N. Y., 334. 
Taunts Burr with Hainilton's insults, .S39. 
Assails Burr after duel, 359. Sued by Burr 
for libel, 403. 

Chillieothe, 417, 486. 

Chimney. Burr cures of smoking, 562. 

Church," John B. Duel with Burr, 240. 

Cineinnali, 3S9, 417. 

Cincinnati, The, 246, 348, 360. 

Claiborne, Gov. Knti-rtains Burr, 393. Ad- 
dressed meeting in N. 0., 433. Proclama- 
tion, 484. 

Clark, Daniel. Testimony against "Wilkin- 
s<in. .SS3, 395. Entertains Burr, 393. Goes 
to Mexico, 396. Furnishes horses to Burr, 
397. Letter to Wilkinson respecting ru- 
mors of Burr, 399. 

Clav. Henrv, 323. Meets Burr, 39S. Coun- 
sel for Burr, 419. Burrs avow.al of inno- 
cence, 422. Meets Burr in N. Y., 611. 

Clerkenwell Close, 578. 

Clinton. De Witt. A college student, 168. 
Inactive for Jefferson's tirst election, 2.50. 
Toasted Jeffer on and Burr, 295. A sena- 
tor, 307. Cheetham his tool, 307. Duel 
with J. Swartwout, 824. Proposed for 
jiresident, 596. 

Clinton, George. Origin of the family, 168. 
His character, 168. Opposed federal con- 
stitution, 171. Re-elected governor in 
1739, 173. Api)oints Burr attorney-gen- 
eral, 174. Re-elected in 1792, ISS. Nom- 
inates Burr to Supreme Court, 190. Can- 
didate for vice-president in 1792, 194. 
Eclip.sed by Burr, 198. Person and char- 
acter, 249. Induced bv Burr to stand for 
assembly, 250. Set aside in favor of Burr, 
269. Burr supports him in 1801 for gover- 
nor, 291. Succeeds Burr as vice-president, 
873. 

Clio-Sophie Society. Burr presides, 55. At- 
tends Burr's funeral, 682. 

Cobbett, William. Proposes Burr for Par- 
liament, 531. 

Coghlim, Mrs. Narrative of her connection 
with Burr, 90. 

Coleman William. Editor of Evening Post, 
308. Duel with Thompson, 826. 



College of New Jersey. Founded, 33. First 
oouunencoment, So. The buildings, 40, 43. 
Salary of the tirst president, 45. Tombs 
of the presidents, 50. Burr outers, 54. 
John .\dams' remarks upon, 235. 

Collins" Historv of Kentucky. Quoted, 41-9. 

Collot, Gen., 253. 

Combes, Captain, 57-3. 

Cooper, Charles D. Causes duel between 
Hamilton nnd Burr, 840. 

Cooper, Judge. Letter to Thomas Morris 
on the tie, 2SS. 

Copenhagen. Burr's visit to, 543. 

Cushing,"Col. Narrates Swartwout's arri- 
val in camp, 426, 429. 

D'Alberg, Due, 55S, 570. 

D.allas, A. J. Opinion on the judiciary bill, 
810. Entertains Burr after duel, 869. In- 
tercedes for Burr, 373. 

Danielson, T. E., 491. 

Daviess, J. H. Moves Burr's arrest, 418. 

Davis, Matthew L. Errors respecting Miss 
Moncrieffe, 89. Quoted respecting elec- 
tion of 1800, 244, 257. Defends Burr 
against Cheetham, S20. Accompanies 
Burr to duel with Hamilton, 852. Im- 
prisoned, 853. Quoted respecting D. Clark, 
395. Expedition. 412. Hurr's voracity, 
416. Errors refuted, 639, 644, 648. 

Davton, Jonathan. Challenges Do Witt 
Clinton, .326. Goes west, 882. Meets 
Burr, 339. 391. Aids expedition. 411. 
Cipher letter to Wilkinson, 428. Indicted, 
477. 

Dead River. Mish.ap therein, 70. 

Dearborne, Gen , 416. 

Doarborne, Mr. 537. 

Do Dalwick, La Baronno. Letter from 
Burr, 549. 

Denon, Baron. Burr visits, 570. Aids 
Burr, 574. 

Delancey, Col., 123. 

De Peyster, Countess. Burr meets, 547. 

De Stein, La Baronno. Burr meets, 54T. 

De Visuie, Miss, 104, 125. 

De Visme. Mrs., 104. 

D'Or. Burr loves, 547. 

D'Otrante, Due, 553. 

Drake, Lieut. Serves under Burr, 115. 

Drecr, F. J., .'524. 

Duane, William. Note to Gen. Collot, 258. 
Turns tiaainst Burr, 312. 

Duels. Between Church and Burr, 240. 
Death of Hamilton's son in duel, 325. 
John Swartwout and De Witt Clinton, 
324. R. Swartwout and Riker, 326. Cole- 
man .and Thompson, 326. Burr and Ham- 
ilton, •'15.5. 

Duer, William, 17-3. 

Duke of York, 221. 

Dumont, M. Meets Burr, 519. 

Dunmer, Col. Killed at Monmouth. 108. 

Dupiester, Col., 411. 413, 414. 

Dwight, Dr., 62, 246. 

E.\TON William. Enticed by Burr, 411. 

-Makes his deposition, 435. His testimony 

436. 
Ebeling, Professor, 546. 



INDEX, 



701 



Eden, Medcef. Suits in chancery, (lOS 

Edinburiih. JUirr's visit to, 030. 

Edwardti, Estliev. Visited by President 
Burr at Sloclibridtrc, 30. Married to 
rresidenl l>urr,:37. Mourns licr liuslKindV 
deatli, 47. Her cliariicter, 48. Deatli, 41). 
Anxiely lor her son, H'J4. 

Edwards, (J-. II., 513, 515, bid. 

Edwards, Jonathan. Uesidence in New 
York, '25. tdcetcli of liis lite. 27. His de- 
scendants, 3il. Compared with President 
Burr, 80. Deatli, 49. Advantajie to Hurr 
of Ids tjrandfather's celebrity, 145. Burr's 
opinion of, 0'2(). 

Edwards, Mary Ann, 520. 

Edwards, Oicden. Attends Burrdyinsc, 679. 

Edwards, I'ierpont. At school with Aaron 
Burr, 53. His opinion on disputed elec- 
tion, 1,S9. His foible, 052. 

Edwards, Mrs. Timothy. Correspondence 
with Burr in revolution, 87. 

Edwards, Hon. Tiniotliy. Guardian to 
Aaron and Sarah Burr, 50. System of 
eduealion, 51, 52. Catches the runaway, 
53. Dissu.vles Burr from Quebec expedi- 
tion, GO. 

Elections. For grovernor of N. Y. in 1789, 
172. For governor of N. Y. in 1792, ISS. 
First presidential, 191. State election of 
lt99, 2d9. Presidential of 1800, 243. The 
vi(;tor\-, 2.52. In House of Kepreaenta- 
tives, 287, 292. 

Elizaheilitown. Described, 51. 

Ellswortli, Oliver. Candidate for third vice- 
president, 193. 

Elsinore. Burr's visit to, 54& 

Emeriek, Col., 122. 

Erfurth, 517, 548. 

FAinFiKi.n, Ct. Burr visits, 598. 
Fenwiek, Madame. Burr cures her chiui- 

nev, 503. 
Fiovd. Davis, 419, 442,477. 
Fort .Massac, 391. 
Fort Stoddart, 446. 
Fort Wilkinson, 451. 
Fouche, 553. 
Frankfort. Ky., 898,418. 
Fredi'ieksliurph, 4.52. 
Frederick the Great. Ills popularity in 

American provinces, 55. 
Freneau, 225. 

Gaiin, Mr., 539. 

Gaines, K. P. Arrests Burr, 447. 
Gaines, Mr. Nursed by Burr, 447. 
Gallatin, Albert. Admires Bentham, 156, 

510. Supported by Burr in senate, 19G. 

Letti'r from Theo., 505. 
Gates. (>en. Horatio. The cabal airainst 

Wasliiiii;ton, 100. Induced by Burr to 

stand for .assembly. 248. 
Gednev. Jlis house plundered, 114. 
Genet," 220. 
(Jeorsie 1 1., ,33, 208. 

German, Gen. Played upon by Burr, 233. 
Gihbon. Burr admires, 155. 
Giles, Senator. Letter from JefTorson 

asainst Burr. 456. At Burr's trial, 459, 

462 



Godwin, William. Burr admires him, 155. 

Burr's acquaintance with, 519. 
Goethe. Burr meets, 540. Life quoted, 649. 
Go.iilrich, S. G. Quoted respecting change 

of manners in TI. 8., 222. 
Gotha. Burr visits, 549. 
Gotha, Duke of. liurr meets, 549, 570. 
Gottcnburtch. Burr readies, 537. 
Graham, Mr. Sent by Jefferson to discover 

Burr's. plans, 415. Interview with Blen- 

nerliassett, 435. Proceeds against Burr, 

430, 438. 
Gravescnd. Burr sails from, 584 
Graydon. Quoted, 221. 
Great Canawha, 487. 
(;reen, Col., 121. 
Grillin, Cyrus, 459. 
Griswold, Edward. Aids Burr in Paris, 556, 

571. 
Gunn, James. Letter to Hamilton on the 

tie, 274. 

IIamhuroii. Burr visits, 644. 

Hamilton, Alexander. His break with 
Washini;ton, S3. Commands artillery 
during retreat from N. Y., SO. His nar- 
rative of Mrs. Arnold, 120. Burr ap- 
plauds his eloquence, 152. Compared 
witli Burr at bar, 152. Keturns fee as 
being too much, 158. No symi)athy with 
his age, 109. Attempts to oust Govern<ir 
Clinton in 17S9, 172. Associated with 
Burr, 172. Kesents Burr's election to 
senate, 179. Opposes him for vice-presi- 
dent, 193. His character, 212. Portraits, 
214. Appearance, 214. Compared witli 
Jefferson, '219. His great inlluence, 231. 
Inspector-general of army, 2.34. Opposes 
Burr's appointment .as bri;;adier, 234. 
Conversation with Gen. Wilkinson. 2.37. 
Selu'iiie to elect I'inckney president, 245. 
On the hustings with Burr, 2.52. Dishon- 
orable letter to Jay, 253. Pamphlet upon 
John Adams, 250. His intrigue unjusti- 
fiable, 25S. Bitterness against Burr, 260. 
His works, 202. Apparent friend of IJurr, 
20 1. Letters on the tie, 207, 271,272, 278, 
279, 285. 291. Letter from Bayard excul- 
pating Burr, 292. Retires to the country, 
295. Letter to Gouverneur Morris (m 
worthlessncss of constitution, 290. To 
Bayard on Burr at Wasliington banquet, 
81.3. To Gouvenour Morris, on same, 314. 
To Bayard proposing Chris. Constitu- 
tional Hoc, 315. To King on cpiarrel 
between Jefferson and Burr, 310. De- 
fen<ls Burr against Cheelham, 320. Against 
Burr for governor of N. Y., 331. Great 
libel speech, 330. Hostile corresiiondence 
with Burr, 841. Meets Burr at banquet 
of Cincinnati, 343. Will, 349. Duel, 355. 
Death, 357. Funeral, 357. Monument, 
303. Burr to Bentham upon duel, 521. 
Ilt)W Burr spoke of duel, 015. Burr's 
visit to ground, 6lO. Hamilton's licen- 
tiousness. 019. 

Hamilton, Mrs. Meets Burr on steamboat, 
618. 

Hammond, Dr. Quoted, 177. Quoted upon 
Judgo Peek, 233, 245. 



702 



I?? DEX 



Hancock, John. Friend of Bnrr, SI. Can- 
didate for lirst vico-prcsidout, 191. llis 
cotnmo, "210. 

Harpers' Mairazino. Quoted, 641. 

Harriion, llobert 11. Ciuididato for first 
vice-president. 101. 

Harri^on. W. II. Letter from Wilkinson 
al>out Burr, 401. From Burr declai-ing 
his innocence, 4'2!>. 

iraverstraw. Burr lives there, 181. 

llawkesbury. Lord, MO. 

Ilay. Geoiire. Letter from Jefferson upon 
Burr's artillee, 410. Attorney asainsl 
Burr, 400. His f:;ti!rue, 4S'2. Letter from 
Oetferson on Burr's iicquittal, 509. 

Iloeren, Trot'essor, .'>46. 

Holder. Burr sails from, 576. 

Henry, John. Candidate for third vice- 
president, 19S. 

Herniitaire. Mrs. Prevost's rosidonce, 189. 

Hildretli, Mr. Quoted, 177, 3S2. 

Hinson, Col., 44-1. 

Hitelihurn. Col., 290. 

Holland. Burr visits, 673. 

Holland House. MS, M?. 

Holland Land Company. Scandal rospeet- 
ine, '240. Burr speculates in, 500, 67.'>. 
Slisihted bv, 578. 

Holland, L.ifd. Letter from Bcntham, 522. 

Hosaek. Dr. E: tertained by Theo., 204. 
At duel betW'vu Hamilton and Hurr, 8,V). 
llis narrative, 856. Lends Burr money, 
682. 

Hosack, "William. "VN'ith Burr in Sweden, 
5;5S, 542. Burr aids, 606. 

Huirhes, Mr. Burr's jailor in London, 584. 

Huntiuiidon, Samuel. Candidate for first 
vice-president. 191. 

Hunt, James. 24S. 

Hutchinson, Dr., 220. 

TscrsT. Case of, CIO. 

Innis, Judsro. Denied motion to summon 
Burr, 419. 

Ireilell. James. Candidate for third vice- 
president, 19S. 

H'vimr, Peter. Editor of Mornins Chroni- 
cle. SOS. Defends Burr after duel, 360. 

Irvinsr, Washinston, 119. Wrote first in 
Chronicle, 80S.' 

Jackson, Andrew. First appearance in 
Couiiress. 3S2. Entertains Burr. 890, 89S. 
Holds money for Burr's boats, 41S. De- 
feuds Burr at Biehmond. 4,18. Exoner- 
ated bv Bnrr, 508. Named for presidency 
by Btirr, 607. President, 681. Defeats 
Burr's application for money, 682. Burr's 
opinion of, 683. 

Jay. John. Advocates federal constitution, 
i71. Nominated for governor, 1S7. Can- 
didate for vice-presidency in 17S9, 191. 
His mission to Ensrlautl ojiposed by Burr, 
190. Candidate for third vice-president, 
19S. Kefuses to call loErislature to defeat 
re]>ubl!cans, 254. Receives one vote in 
1800 for president, 261. Letter from Jef- 
ferson on Mexico, 409. 

Jefferson. Tluunas. Excludes Burr from 
the archives, 1S6. Oamlidato for second 



vice-president, 194. His opinion of Bnir, 
190. Elected vice-president. 198. Origin 
of his democracy, 215. Mis per.son, 216. 
Character, 216. Services, 217. Conversa- 
tion between Jctlerson, llamillou, and 
Adams, 21S. Jetferson ami Ihuuilton 
compared, 219. JelVersou upon news- 
papers, 224. Upon heat of (larlies in 179S, 
227. Conversation with Adams, 25,"). His 
works, 202. Letter to Biar on tie, 205. 
Hamilton's i>piniou of JelVeisini, 279. Jef- 
ferson on the tic, 2S8, 289. 290. Letter to 
Momoc on same. 290. To liush on same, 
290. How elected president, 292. Quoted 
on midnlijlit appointiuent.s, 29.5. Inter- 
view with Burr, .''27. Opinion of Hurr 
829. Opposes Burr for governor of N. V., 
8:^1. Ue-elected. 878. Last interview 
with Burr, 408. Letter to Jay on Mexico 
409. Keceives inforniatiiui of Burr's do- 
siixns, 41.5. Letter to Ilay upon Burr's 
artirtee, 416. rroclamatioii asrainst Burr. 
4;i8. Supports Wilkinson, 434. Easier to 
convict Burr, 455. Letters showini; it, 
456. 474. 475, 477. Interview with Eaton, 
490. Disgusteil at Burr's acquittal. 509. 
Letter upon Burr in Europe, 517. De- 
scribed by Burr, 618. 

Johnson, Samuel. Candidate for third vice 
president. 19S. 

JuMU'l, Madame. Married to Burr, CC3. 
Separated, 665. Her kindness to Burr, 
667. 

Jumel, Stephen. His career, C60. 

Krtine, Kicitard Raynal, 481, 4S1. 

Keniblc, Fanny. Burr sees act, 685. 

Kemper Brothers. 89S. 

Kibby, Ephraim, 488. 

King of Pome. Born, 674. 

King, Kufus. First senator fi'om N. T., 176. 
His oiiinion on the disputeil election, 1S9. 
Warns Hamilton against Burr, 192. His 
opinion of !5urr as a ilebater. 195. Letter 
from Hamilton on liurr and Jell'erson's 
ditference. 816. Proposed as governor of 
N. Y., 888. Letter from Hamilton on 
l$urr's campaign Un governor of N. Y.. 8:i3. 

Kingston, N. Y. Burr meets Vauderlyn, 
620. 

Kirbv, Mr., 532. 

Kirk'land. Dr. Aids Bnrr In Boston, 693. 

Knapp. Col. Quoted, 2.V2. 

Knox, General. In retreat from N. Y., 86. 
Olfended b}' Hamilton's elevation, 236. 

Lake Tensaw, 449. 

Lamb, Charles. Burr acquainted with, 618, 

Lamb, Col.. 287. 

Lansing, Mr. Proposed for governor of N. 
Y., 881. 

Lee. Gen. At battle of Monmouth, 108. 

Ledyard, Mr. Letter to Hamilloa, 1S6. 

Leonora. ;!.''2. 

Lewes. (}. II. Quoted, 649. 

Lewis, Morgan. Succeeds Burr as attornov- 
general. 177. Provided for in ISOl. 3(i7. 
Nominated srovernor of N. Y.,S83. Elect- 
ed, 8.85. Quoted, 869. 

Lexington, battle of. Efl'ect of the Dews, 66 



INDEX 



703 



Lcxmston, Ky., 803, 413. 

Lincoln, r.cnjiiinin. Candidato for first 
vicL'-iiri'siiiont, I'Jl. 

Linji, Dr., 28i). 

Litoliiiild. Itiot there in 1774, 05. 

LittU'lU'ld, Col., 112. 

Liv<.'ri)uol, Lord. Orders 15nrr"s arrest, 
5*3. Letter from Burr on his arrest, ."J^O. 

Livingston, IJrockliolst. Induced liy Burr 
to stand for assembly, 249. Judge of 
Supreme Court, 807. 

Livingston, J-Mward. Not aj;'ent of Burr, 
2:S(i. (iuoied hy Jelferson, 2SS. Mayor 
ofN, Y.,;3U7. Defends Burr, 320. Quoted 
by Bayard, 321. 

Liv'in:,'ston, Robert R. His familj', ICO. His 
Jiosition, 109. Advocates fedei'ul constitu- 
tion, 171. Uesents IIuMiilton's elevation, 
17S. Joins repnlilican party, 230. Why 
not noniinatcil vice-|)residont, 259. Am- 
bassador to 1'' ranee, 307. 

Livingston, William. Governor of New 
Jersey. Descrihes preachinj; of Ucv. A. 
Burr, 33. 

Louisa, Princess, 549. 

Ijouisiana. Annexed to United States, 3S1. 
Discontented, 397. Burr's desii;ns upon, 
431. 

Louis I'lulippe. Entertained by Burr, 154. 

Louisville, 3S9, 39S. 

Luniufr, Mr. Generosity to Burr, 542. 

Lyman, Joseph, 240. 

Lyon, Matthew. Quoted by JelTerson, 2S9. 
Went west, 332. Narrative of Burr's 
journey westward, 8S4. Continuation of 
same, 3S9. 

Mao DoiTOAL, General. Superintends em- 
barkation after battle of L. I., 83. Re- 
commends Burr to Wasldn^'ton, 10.5. 
Burr's seneral, 11.3. Sends Burr to Wash- 
inf:lon,'l23. 

M.ac Itae, Ah^xander. Counsel against Burr, 
460. Consul in Paris, 500. 

Ma<Uson, James. Supports Burr for Minis- 
ter to France, 197. Story of his queue, 
223. ['referred by Jelferson, 306. Cool 
to Burr, 317. Burr's opinion of his ad- 
ministration, 5S."). 

Malcolm, Col. Commander of Burr's re^i- 
mi.'iit, 97. Gives up regiment to Burr, 93. 

Man-au, Dr., 431. 

Maidiattan Company, 233. 

Mauhahubba Bluff, 4-10. 

Maret. See Due de Bas.sano. 

Marietta, 3S3. 415, 417, 435, 436. 

Mariner, Billy, 594. 

Marshall, Chief Justice. Examines Burr, 
451. Described, 459. Decision, 409. De- 
nounei'd bv Jetferson, 475. Tiyal decis- 
ions, 506, .511. 

Martin, Luther. Connselfor Burr, 460. Sure- 
ty for Burr, 471. Speech, 472. Denounced 
by Jelferson, 474. Defends Burr asirinst 
toasts, 473. Described by Blennerhassett, 
603. Entertains Burr afcer trial, 511. 
Supported by Burr, 006. 

Mason, J., 590. 

Mason. Dr., 872. 

Mayouce. Burr visits, CSL 



Mazzei. Letter from JofTorson, 270. 

Me(;omb, Alexander. Great land purcliaso, 
170. 

Mead, Governor, 440. 

Melville, Lord, 531. 

Mercantile Library, 203. 

Merry, Mr., 412. 

Mexico. Clark's voyages to, 890. Burr's 
desiirns upon, 4il9. Described by Jetfer- 
son, 4ii9. Biirlin'.''s mi.ssion to, 430. E.K- 
cilement al)out Burr, 434. rolilical con- 
dition in 1SI)8, 515, .521, 646. 

Milllin. Governor, 221. 

Mills, John, 525. 

Minor, 399. 

-Miranda, General, 408, 4S7. 

Moncrielfe, Margaret. Iler acquaintance 
with Burr. S9. Her narrative, 90. 

Moiieltc, Dr. Quoted, 443. 

Monmouth, Battle of. Burr commands a 
brigade, 107. 

Monroe, James. Supports open .senate, 1S.5. 
Su[)ports Burr for minister to France, 196. 
Letter from Jelferson on the tie, 290. 
Burr's opinion of, 6o7. 

Montgomeiy, Gen. Richard. Commands 
army in Can.ada, 68. Ajipoints Burr his 
ni<l, 72. liis death, 75. His body borno 
olf bv Burr, 76. 

Moore,"liishop. Entertained by Thco., 294 
Testifies to duel, 372. 

Moore, Sir .John, 517. 

Morgan, (!ol. Entertains Burr, 418. Sends 
information to Jelferson, 415. Testilles 
at trial, 49.5. 

Morris, Gouverneur. Minister to Franco, 
196. Letter to Handlton on the tie, 270. 
Anotluu-, 272. Letter from Hamilton on 
same, 285. Letter from same on the con- 
stitution, 290. Letter to Livinsston on 
Burr's course on judiciary bill, 310. From 
Ilandlfon on IJurr at Washington ban- 
quet, 314. Orator at Hamilton's funeral, 
35S. 

Morris, Chief Justice, 173. 

Morris, Thomas. Letter from Judge Cooper 
on the tie, 288. 

Muhlenburgh. Peter, 286. 

Mulgrave, Lord, 516. 

NAcniTOcnES, 407. 

Nashville. Burr's receptions, 890, 893, 424. 

Natchez. Described, 391. Excited obout 
Burr, 439. 

Neddy. Anecdote of, 99. 

Neuson, Ellas, 248. 

Neville, General, 415. 

Newark. Rev. A. Burr settled, 82. First 
Presbyterian church, 45. 

Newbiirgh, 122. 

New Haven. Gov. Tryon's attack, 124. 

New Orleans. Ceremony of annexation of 
Louisiana, 881. Arriv.al of Burr, .391. City 
described, 392. Excitement about Burr, 
433. 

New Rochelle, 112. 

Newspapers. Before revolution, 223. Dur- 
ing VVashington's admini.-itration, 224. 
Jefferson's remarks upon, 224. American 
Citizen, 807. Evening Post, 808, 886, 86tS, 



704 



r N n K X . 



683. Mornins Chronicle, SOS. Aurora, 
312. Trenton'Fi'deralist, 3G9. Washin:;- 
ton Feileralist, oT4. 'Western "World, 418. 
New York Columbian, 595. Grei.'nleaf"s 
N. Y. Journal ami Patriotic Kegister, 22S. 
Pre.sbvteriau lleralil, iSi^S. 

New York City. Condition in 1722, 25. 
Eetreat from in revolution, ST. Evacu- 
ated by British, 1-59. Described in ITSO, 
142. John Adams's visit in 117.5, 143. 
Described by Tiieo. in ISOl, 299, 300. Theo. 
fonil of, 526. 

Now York Review. Quoted, 603, 6S3. 

Nichols, W. C, 239. 

Niebuhr, 546. 

Nortli -Vmerican Review. Quoted, 634. 

Nott, Dr. Sermon on death of Hamilton, 361. 

OcONF.E River, 451. 

Ogden, David A., 320. 

Ogdon, Matthi.as. At college with Burr, 
59. Joins the army with Burr. 67. Goes 
with Burr on expedition to Quebec, 68. 
Rejiorts Burr's bravery to Congre.ss and 
Washington, 77, 79. Misunderstanding 
with Burr, SO. llis son, 413. Sou arrest- 
ed, *U. 

Ohio River. Described, 8S7. 

O-Kecfe. Mr.. 372. 

Olsen, Mr., 513. 

Ossood, Samuel, 2-lS. 

O.xford. Burr's visit to, 529. 

Paramits. Burr and the British picket, 
101. Tlie Provosts, 101. Burr's nocturnal 
visits, 119. Mrs. Arnold there, 126. 

P.aris. Burr reaches, 551. Describes, .503. 

Parke, Mr., 401. 

Parties. After re volution, 167. The Burr- 
ites, 170. Acceptance of the constitu- 
tion. 171. Parties before revolution, 2il8. 
Durinsj revolution, 209. Alter revolution, 
211. In 1798, 227. 229. Party drill in 
ISiii, 244. Factions in ISOl, 306. 

Patterson, Mis.<;, 301. 

Patterson, William. At college with Burr, 
59. Receives Burr .as a student, 131. 

Peck, Judge. His character, 23-3. Played 
ui>(>n bv Burr, 233. Prosecuted for sedi- 
tion, 244. 

Peggy, 205. 

Pendleton. Nath.aniel. Hamilton's second 
in duel with Burr, 343. 

Pensacola. 442, 446. 

Perkin's, Col. Recognizes Burr, 445. Com- 
mands guard, 449. The march thi'ough 
wilderness, 450. 

Petersburgli, Va. Burr's reception there 
after duel, 372. 

Phelps. Oliver, 291. 

Pickett, A. J. Quoted, 4-19. 

Pinckney, C. C. Hamilton denounces to 
liim Jett'erson and Burr, 198. Candidate 
for third vice-president, 198. Appointed 
general, 236. Hamilton's scheme to elect 
him president, 24.5. Its failure, 261. Op- 
poses duellins, 360. Letter from Jeffer- 
son against Burr, 456. 

Pinckney, Thomas. Candidate for vice- 
president, 193. 



: Pittsburg. 387. 
Pitt, William. 412. 

! Piatt, Captain Richard. Testifies to Burr's 
i bravery at Quebec, 75. To Burr's effi- 
' ciency in Westchester lines, 122. 
1 Poindf.xter, George, 440. 
I Popham, Miiior. Married at Burr's house, 
I 138. 

Potter, captain, 581. 
i Power, 399. 
Prevost, Frederic, 351, .352. 
Prevost, Mrs. Theodosia. Meets Burr, 104. 
Visited by Burr. 118. Interview with 
Mrs. Arnold, 126. Corresponds with 
Burr, 132. Her character, 135. Burr's 
h)ve letters, 187. Married to Burr, 138. 
Her hai>piness with him, 156, 157, 199, 
Her sickness and death, 200. Burr's 
oi)iuion of her, 200. 
Prevost, Judge, 293. 
Prevost. Sir (xeorge. 515. 
Princeton. Described, 54 Burr buried, 

632. His grave, 685. 
Putnam, General. Burr appointed liis aid, 
61. Receives Jliss Monerieffe, 89. Her 
narrative, 90. Letter from Putnam to 
Major Monerieffe, 94. Sends information 
to Burr of Governor Try on, 117. 
Putnam, Mrs. Her industry, 31. 

QiTEiiF.o. Assaulted by Montgomery, 74. 

Eaxdoi.pii, Edmitnd. His opinion on dis- 
puted N. Y. election, 139. Coimsel for 
Burr, 401. 

Randol]))!, Jcdin. Quoted, 287. AtBurr'n 
trial, 459, 463. 

Reed. Jo.si'ph. His income at bar before 
revolution, 1-30 Quoted respecting loy- 
alty of Americans, 209. 

Reeve, Ta]ipan. Marries Sarah Burr, 50. 
Entertains Burr in 1774, 6.3. 

Reeves. Jolin. Friend of Burr, 533. Lends 
Burr money, 581. 5S2. 

Reflections. Upon Burr's looseness in 
money matters, 128. Upon good and bad 
men, 140. Upon lawyers, 146. Upon 
wliig and torv, 207. Upon deinocracy, 
296. Ui)on politics, 306. C.alnmn}-, 637. 
Immorality of last century, 654. Chtirao 
tei of Burr, 692. 

Renwick, Prof Quoted, 244. 

Richmond Hill. Washington lives there, 
81. Burr owns it, 154. Ptcture of, 154. 
Sohl, 373. 

Richmond, Va. Burr arrives a prisoner, 
4.53. Arraigned, 458. Burr popular. 479. 

Riker, Richard. Duel with Robert Swart- 
wout. 326. 

Robbins. Kzekiel, 248. 

Robertson, Mrs., .556. 

Robinson, Mr. With Burr in Europe, 543. 

Root, Erastu.s. His opinion of Burr, 153. 

Rousseau. Burr's ojiinion of 626. 

Rovigo, Duke. Burr's interview with, 557. 

Rush^ Beniamin. Letter from Jetfersoa on 
the tie, 290. 

Eussell, Jonathan. Refuses passports to 
Burr, 560. Grants passports, 574 

Rutgers, Henry, 243, 



INDEX. 



705 



Eutledgre, John, 
president. 191. 
the tie, 2T4. 



Candidate for first vice- 
Letter to Hamilton on 



Sabine River, 425. 

S.-irgent, Epes. Quoted, 611. 

Schuyler, Gen. His character, 16!). Loses 
re-election to senate, 177. Elected to 
senate, 229. 

Scott, Major, 454. 

Scott, Sir Walter, Burr meets at Edin- 
burgh, 530. 

Scott, Winficld. At Burr's trial, 459. Meets 
Burr in Albany, C14. 

Sedgwick, Theodore. Letter from Hamilton 
on the tie, 271. Letter to Hamilton on 
same, 275. Letter from Hamilton on 
same, 2S7. 

Sedition Law. 244. 

Serjeant, Jonathan D., 189, 220. 

Seward, W. H. Quoted, 207. 

Shields, M.ajor, 440. 

Simcoe, Col., 122. 

Smith, Col., 324. 

Smith, Israel, 477. 

Smith, John. Senator from Ohio, 882. 
Meets Burr, 389, 423. 

Smith, Lieut Sent by Wilkinson to Jeffer- 
son, 432. 

Smith, li. E. Sheriflf of Otsego, 188. 

Smith, Samnel. Burr's proxy, 266. Quoted, 
289, Defends Burr against Cheetham, 
322. 

Smith, Thomas. Burr studies law under 
him, 131. 

Sorrel Kiver. Burr'.s encounter with In- 
dians, 79. 

Spring, Rev. S.amuel. At college with Burr, 
59. Goes with Burr on Quebec expedi- 
tion, 70. 

Bt. Andrew's Society, 36.3. 

St. Chiire. Madame,"570. 

Stirlins;, Lord. At Ijattle of Monmonth, 107. 
Described by Burr, 607. 

St. Louis, 400. 

Stockholm. Burr reaches, 537. 

Stone, W. L. Anecdote of the language of 
flowers, 95. His story of Theo. Burr, 
204. 

Storm, Thomas, 248. 

Stratford upon Avon. Burr's visit to, 530. 

Strick, Baron. .550. 

St. Simons. Burr's residence there, 371. 

Swartwout, John. Elected to assembly, 
248, 252. Assists Burr to frustrate Ham- 
ilton, 257. Loses scat in Manhattan Bank. 
807. Defends Burr acainst Cheetham, 
320. In favor of Burr for president, 322. 
Duel with De Witt Clinton. .324. Wakes 
Burr on morning of duel with Hamilton, 
852. Flies with Burr, 366. Aid5 expedi- 
tion, 411. Faitliful to Burr, 564. 

Swartwout, Robert. Assists Burr against 
Hamilton, 257. Duel with Riker, 326. 
Aids expedition, 411. Entertains Burr, 
595. 

Swartwout, Samuel. Accompanies Bnrr to 
St. Simons, 871. Aids expedition, 411. 
Bears p.acket IVom Burr to Wilkinson, 
418. Arrives in camp, 426. Questioned 



by Wilkinson, 431. Arrested, 4.34. Let- 
ter to Burr proposinsr speculation, 524. 
Burr announces arrival at Boston, 586. 
Welcomes Burr, 591. Lodsres Burr, 595. 
Sweden. Burr's opinion of 539. 

Tallyerani). Entertained by Bnrr, 154, 204. 

Taylor, Bayard. Quoted, 541. 

Taylor, John. Letter to Burr, 195. 

Tavlor, I'eter. Testimony at Burr's trial, 
493. 

Telfair, Edward. Candidate for first vice- 
president, 191. 

Thane, Samuel, 36. 

Thorn rison. Col., 121. 

Thomjison, Smith, 307. 

Thorburn, Grant. Quoted, 660. 

Three Rivers. Burr concealed there, 72. 

Tillotson, Dr, 307. 

Troup, Col. Letter to Burr, 125. Borrows 
Burr's money, 128. Associated witli Burr 
in polities, 173. Lends Burr his law li- 
brary, 596. 

Truxton, Cimimodore. N.arrative of Burr's 
flight after duel, 80G. Meets Burr in Phil- 
adelphia before expedition, 411. Testi- 
money at trial, 492. 

Tryon, Gov. Commands marauders in 
Westchester, 116. Attacks New Haven, 
124. 

Tyler, Comfort, 442, 447. 

Ursaline Ncns. Entertain Burr at N. Or- 
leans, 394. Implicated with Burr, 412. 

Valley Forge. Burr posted near, 105. 
Quells mutinv, 106. 

Van Benthuyse'n, 266. 

V^anderlyn, John. Story of, 620. 

Van Ness,Williiim P. Defends Burr against 
Cheetham, 320. Wrote pamphlet for 
Burr, .321. In favor of Burr for jiresident, 
322. Burr's second in duel witli Hamil- 
ton, 841. Asserted that Ilaaiilton fired 
first, 617. 

Van Pelt, Rev. P. J. Attenc::, ..^urr dving, 
679. 

Van Rensselaer, Mr. Finds lodgings for 
Burr in Albany, 138. Opposed in iSul by 
Burr, 291. 

Venezuela, 408. 

VeraCruz, .396, 4-31,492. 

Vigilant, The. Detained in Holland, 578. 
Captured, 577. 

Vigo, Mr., 414. 

Volney. Entertained by Burr, 154, 204. 
Burr's friend in Paris, 555. 

Wadswortii, Senator. Quoted, 219. 

Wakefield, Ala., 444. 

Warner, Geo., 248. 

AVashington, George. His portrait at 
I'rinceton. 43. Invites Burr to reside in 
his family, 70. His ti'ials in revolution, 
82. His difference with Hamilton, 8.3. 
Reproves Miss Monci'ieffe, 90. His great 
fortune, 97. Declines Burr's proposal for 
exjiedition to Staten Island, 105. Ap- 
points Burr to post near Valley Forge, 
105. The Gates cabal, 106. At battle of 



706 



INDEX, 



Mon month, 103. Bonds Bnrr to watch 
Now Vork, 101'. Grants leave of absfnco 
to Burr. 109. Mode of liis opcniriir Oon- 
{,'ross. ISl. F(>rl)i(Is ]5i:rr to search 
areliives, 1S3. His vote fur first presi- 
deiiey, 101. For second presidency, 194. 
Kefnses to nominate Unrr for Minister to 
France, 197. lieeeives votes for third 
presidency. 193. Victim of eiilo3y. 21'2. 
Threateneil by mob, 22 i. N.aines llamil- 
t(>n ins|>ector-g:eneral, 230. His writii>;:s, 
26'2. Qnotcd by Jefferson respectinj 
Adatns, :!28. Burr's oi)inion of, C1.3. 

Wasliita IMver, 410, 417. 4^56. 

Watson, .lames. Letter to Hamilton, 1S7. 

"Webster, Noah. 2G5. 

Weehawken. Described, .853. 

Weimar. Unrr visits, 546. 

Vreimar, Dnchess of. IJiirr meets, 547. 

Westchester Lines. Bnrr in command. 111. 
Gedney plundered and redressed, 114. 
Lieut. Drake, 115. Mr. Young's narrative, 
121. 

Westpbali.i, Kin? of. 553. 554. 

West Point. Bnrr in comm.-vnd there, 109. 

Wheafon, .Mr. aud Mrs., 8S6. 

Wlieelins, 3SS. 

White ri.-»ins. Burr's head-quarters there, 
112. 

Wickliam, John. Counsel for Burr, 4C1. 

Wieland. Bnrr meets, 540. 

W'Ibevforce, William. Quoted, 037. 

Wilkinson. Gen. James. Accompanies ex- 
pedition to Quebec, 70. Conversation 
with Hamilton. 237. Letter from Burr, 
204. Appointed frovernor of Louisiana, 
873. Life and character. 3S3. Conversa- 
tion with Lyon about Burr, 3S5. Meets 
Burr at Fort Massac, ZZ'.. Introduces 



Bnrr to CTarlc, 393. Testincj a«ra!nst 
Clark, .395. Letter from Clark riboiit ru- 
mors of Bnrr, 399. Meets Bnrr at St. 
Louis, 40:». Letter to Gov. Harrison for 
Burr, 401. Mystcriins letters from Burr, 
402, 400. Prepares for Spanisli war, 407. 
Snsr^ested expedition. 40S. Alarmed by 
I'itt's deatli, 412. Goes to the Sabine. 425. 
The cipher letters, 427, 42S. Doerts Burr, 
43;). Hastens to N. O.. 43-3. Denounced 
by Bnrr, 440. Del.ay in reaching Kich- 
inond, 404. Appears in court, 470. Katon's 
opinion of, 4SS. Testimony, 510. Burr's 
deelar.ition respecting, 013. 

Willet, Marinns. 411. 

Williamson, Charles, 413. 

Wilton, John. Candidato for first vice- 
presiilent, 191. 

Wirt, William. His income at b.ar, 1,54 
Counsel .ascainst Burr, 40l>. Speech, 465, 
473,497. " 

Witherspoon, Dr. President of collesre of 
N. J., when Burr enters, 54. His advice 
to Burr respecting the colleso revival, 53. 

Wolstoncraft, Afary. Her ])ortrait, l.'iS. 

Wood, John. Suppressed History of John 
Adams, 311. 

Woodhridiie. Dudlev. Testimony at Burr's 
trial, 490. 

Woodbridge, Eev. Timothy. Quoted, 623. 

Tale Collegk. Jonathan Edwards a stu- 
dent there. 27. A tutor, 2S. Kov. Aaron 
Bnrr at Yale, 31. Stu<lents led against 
British by Col. Burr, 124. 

Tates, Judge. Kuns for governor of N. T., 
173. 

Young, Mr. Testifies to Burr's eOlcicncT 
in Westchester lines, 121. 



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